


Family Vacation

by alice_time



Series: It Runs in the Family [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Hawaii Five-0 (2010), White Collar
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Family Fluff, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2018-09-15 14:31:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 21,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9239117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alice_time/pseuds/alice_time
Summary: It's been a couple years since Neal and Lucy settled in as part of the Wayne family. Neal and Sara are expecting their first child and the whole Wayne family ends up in Hawaii on vacation. Bored, Lucy decides to do some crime solving while on the island. Concerned about the famous family now on her island, the governor puts the Five-O task force on protection detail.Putting Lucy on a collision course with Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett, the man who might actually be a match for the Bat Family's newest vigilante.





	1. Chapter 1

 

Wayne family vacations were something of an epic media-fueled madhouse. Lucy wasn't really _surprised_ but she was a bit annoyed. Getting dolled up and having microphones and cameras shoved in her face put her on edge and her brothers were _not_ helping.

“How come Neal didn’t have to talk to the press?” she complained, eyeing her twin. “Huh?”

“Because Neal’s incredibly pregnant wife needed him,” Bruce said, hiding a smile he knew would only irritate his daughter further. “Just try to concentrate on the fact that we’re in Hawaii and the whole family is here.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Fine. But I’m not doing another charity event until we get back to Gotham.”

“Deal.”

Dick walked into the room from the patio, little Mary on his hip. “I thought you were going to stab one of those reporters.”

Barbara was quick to follow him, accepting Mary from Dick and cooing at the little girl. “How is my baby girl? Hungry?” Barbara glanced over at Lucy. “Have you seen Damian?”

“No.” Lucy shook her head. “I think he said something about a swim.”

“Not a swim!” Jason called as he walked in, a towel on his head. “He’s weird about the ocean and he wasn’t in the pool.” He scrubbed the towel through his hair. “Luce, you want to go chase some bad guys tonight? I hear there’s a gang we could take on.” He grinned.

Lucy smiled back. “Sounds like fun.”

“This, is a vacation,” Bruce boomed, touching a bit on his “Batman” voice. “No vigilantism while on vacation.”

The siblings sighed. “Yes, Dad.”

“Lucy, dearest, how about we go shopping?” Selina suggested, fussing with her hat as she emerged from the bedroom she and Bruce were sharing. “Babs, you should come along. Let Dick watch Mary for a bit.”

Babs shook her head. “That’s all right, I want to get some more sun.”

Selina shrugged and glanced at Lucy. “Well?”

“All right, Mom. I suppose I could use a new bathing suit. _Someone_ seems to have used mine to mop up a chemical spill of some kind.” She had a feeling it was Damian. Which would explain why no one could find the brat.

“Perfect.” Selina flashed a smile. “Put on a hat and we’ll go.”

“A hat?”

“Dearest, we share the same complexion, sunscreen is _not_ enough.”

“All right.” Lucy hurried upstairs, nodding at Tim as she passed him on the stairs and ducked into her room for a hat. She took a moment to peek into Neal and Sara’s room. The latter was currently resting, feet propped up a pillow and a hand resting on her swollen stomach. “Hey, Mom and I are going shopping. You need anything?”

Sara wrinkled her nose. “I would _kill_ for some shrimp, but if I can’t have shrimp, I would like another jar of cocoa butter.”

“Can do, sis.”

“Thanks. And if you see Neal, remind him that he owes me a massage.”

Lucy saluted and headed back downstairs. She plopped the floppy brimmed sunhat on her head and looked at her mother. “Happy?”

“Immensely.” Selina smiled and put on her sunglasses.

Lucy looked at her brother. “Sara wanted me to remind you that you owe her a massage.”

Neal nodded. “Got it.” He put his phone aside. “Have fun shopping.”

“Oh, I will.”

Selina shouldered her purse, waving to catch Lucy’s attention. “Come on, we’ll sneak out. Jason dear, could distract the paparazzi for a few minutes?”

Jason grinned. “Not a problem.”

“Do _not_ blow anything up,” Bruce said.

Jason rolled his eyes and headed out the front door while Lucy and Selina snuck out the back.

***

“Remind me why we’re on baby-sitting detail for a bunch of rich kids?” Danny asked, staring at the mansion they’d been watching all morning. “I mean they do have their own private security.”

“The governor asked us to.” Steve shrugged. “Nothing we can do about that. Except maybe hope that an active case pulls us off.”

“Right.” Danny shook his head. “Looks like someone is coming out of the house—one of the Wayne boys it looks like.”

Steve glanced up, spotting movement along the perimeter as Selina Kyle and Lucy Wayne casually slipped past the paparazzi. “He’s a distraction. Wayne’s daughter and girlfriend are making their escape.”

Danny sighed. “We have to follow them, don’t we?”

“Yup.” Steve texted Kono with the update and started the car. “Can’t let the people you’re guarding wander off unsupervised.”

“I suppose not.”

***

If there was one thing Lucy was good at, it was blending in. Away from the rest of the family, she could put a pair of sunglasses, toss her head and change her gait—and most of the paparazzi wouldn’t even look at her twice. It gave her a thrill to be able to fool people so thoroughly, a trait she inherited from her mother.

“Sara wants cocoa butter,” Lucy remarked. “Where do you want to go first?”

“Bathing suits, I think. You did say you needed one.” Selina smiled. “There’s a little boutique I’m quite fond of.” She locked elbows with her daughter and sauntered off to the boutique in question.

In spite of the air of nonchalance, Lucy was well aware they had a tail. She’d spotted the cops earlier that day outside the manor, and noticed when they started following. Tim had snagged their dossiers about ten minutes after spotting them outside the manor.

She had to admit, they weren’t _bad_ at trailing, but they weren’t Damian. She could lose them if she wanted to but there wasn’t much reason to do that. Lucy clocked McGarrett pretending to look at sunglasses as she exited the changing room in the first of three swimsuit options. _He’s tall_ , she noted. She liked tall.

“What do you think, Mom?” Lucy turned, hands on hips. The suit in question was a blue two-piece. Basic.

“A bit boring,” Selina remarked. “The straps are a bit flimsy too. I don’t know how supportive it’ll be.”

Lucy stretched her arms over her head, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Fair enough. Be right back.”

Selina fussed with her sunglasses, looking into the reflection to get a second look at the tall handsome watchdog following them.

Lucy came back out a moment later in a one piece black suit with more substantial straps. The cut was vintage, with a sweetheart neckline that emphasized her bust line. “Well?”

“I rather like that. Gives you a pin-up air without going over the top. And it covers more skin, which means less sunscreen.”

Leave it to Selina to always be practical. “True.”

“Let’s see the third.”

Lucy nodded and ducked back into the booth.

Steve couldn’t help but watch the little fashion show. Lucy was a very pretty girl, he could see the resemblance between her and her mother, except for those eyes. Those incredibly blue eyes. Long dark curls tumbled over her shoulders, and the swimsuits showed off her athletic physique. He thought it was a bit odd, an heiress having a gymnast’s build. Muscular and lean. Not the picture of a pampered socialite, that was for sure.

He watched as the women finally went to the checkout counter, buying that second swimsuit. He wondered if Lucy could surf. He waited a few moments to let the ladies get ahead before following them out, nodding at Danny.

They followed the ladies along the busy street, texting updates now and again. As the ladies veered off down an alley, Steve picked up the pace a bit, feeling a bit on edge for some reason. A shout sent him running and he got into the alley in time to see a burly teenager trying to take Lucy’s purse. He had a gun.

Steve didn’t blink, pulling his sidearm, “Freeze, Five-O!”

Lucy, however, had it handled. She disarmed the would-be mugger with easy precision. A sharp snap was followed by a scream—she’d broken his arm. Steve watched as Lucy disassembled the gun, a disdainful look on her face.

“Pathetic.” She shook her head and then glanced at Steve. She blinked. “Oh, officer. He’s all yours.” She held the gun out. “You might want this.”

Steve holstered his gun, directing Danny to contain the suspect while he took the gun from Lucy. “Are you all right Miss Wayne? Ms. Kyle?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” Selina said. “Thank you for coming so quickly. Officer?”

“It’s Lieutenant Commander McGarrett,” Steve replied. “Five-O.”

“That’s that fancy taskforce, right?” Lucy widened her eyes a touch.

“Yes, ma’am.” Steve gave her a look. “Where did you learn to do a disarm like that?”

“I used to work for the FBI.” Lucy smiled. “I guess most people forget.”

“Right.” Steve nodded, re-evaluating and making a note to do a proper background check on _Miss Wayne_ , at his leisure. “My partner and I can take you back to the manor.”

Lucy caught the tone on that, it wasn’t a suggestion. She smiled. “That’s kind of you to offer but—”

“Oh, we’re all done shopping anyhow,” Selina took her daughter by the arm. “Come on, sweetheart, I’m sure everyone is wondering why we aren’t back yet anyhow.”

Lucy sighed. “Thank you, Commander, that would be wonderful.” She batted her eyelashes. “But don’t you have to…do something with _him_?”

“Local PD will be here in a few minutes, they can take him into custody,” Steve replied, meeting her gaze.

Selina pulled a fan from her purse and smiled. This little vacation was going to be more interesting than she had expected. _Much_ more interesting.

 

 

 


	2. Children Don't Listen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason and Lucy go out.

Despite Bruce’s ban on vigilantism, it was practically impossible to stop Jason and Lucy from acting on their instincts. They were worse than Damian in that way. So when Bruce got up in the middle of the night, making his usual rounds to ensure everyone was where they should be—it was no great surprise to find two of his children _not_ where they were supposed to be.

He padded back to his room, tapping Selina on the shoulder. She woke quickly, green eyes flashing in the dark. “What?”

“Jason and Lucy are gone.”

He could see her smirk in the moonlight. “No great surprise.” She put a hand on his wrist. “You can’t go out, Bruce. They’ll come home.”

“Just once, I’d like it if my children _listened_ when I told them not to do something.”

Selina snorted.

Bruce sighed.

***

Jason and Lucy were headed into a seedy part of town on Jason’s motorcycle. He took it everywhere. Lucy referred to it as his security blanket with only a touch of sarcasm. Jason had been scoping out the gang for the past couple days, it was his version of Sudoku. When he spotted them smuggling in guns, he’d decided to take steps.

And who better to bring along then his favorite sister?

He parked a block down from the wharf. Lucy slipped off the back of the bike. They were both in black and Jason had bowed to Lucy’s sensibilities by carrying nonlethal weaponry. He’d “borrowed” Dick’s Eskrima sticks, while Lucy was carrying a collapsible bo staff. Without a word, the pair fanned out to flank the men offloading crates of weapons.

Lucy climbed up onto a shipping container, pulling a small smoke grenade from her belt and tossing it down before jumping down, extending the staff and laying into her targets. Lucy might not have been at the whole vigilante thing for as long as the rest of her family, but she’d taken to the life like a duck to water.

Jason leapt into the fray with a wide smile. The pair didn’t take long to disable, disarm and restrain the gang, leaving them practically gift wrapped for the police. Lucy took the time to render the guns less useful before sirens sent them running back to Jason’s bike.

But as he revved the engine, a very familiar silver sports car blocked off their initial exit path. Lucy blinked and leaned forward. “I think that’s those 5-O guys.”

“Great,” Jason muttered. “Hold on tight, sis.”

Lucy recognized it as his _I’m about to do something wildly dangerous but also cool_ , tone of voice, sighed and wrapped her arms more tightly around his waist.

He revved the engine again as the familiar figures of Commander McGarrett and his partner emerged from the car, guns raised.

Lucy wrinkled her nose. _Damn, that man looks competent._

“Shut off the engine and get off the bike!” McGarrett shouted. “Now!”

Jason snorted. “Fat chance.” He tossed a flash bang onto the ground and Lucy closed her eyes—very much hoping she wouldn’t get shot—and Jason took off, quickly changing the motorcycle’s orientation with a squeal of rubber. Another car pulled up, lights flashing.

Jason didn’t miss a beat, he quickly changed directions again and set a course for some construction detritus that made a convenient ramp. Lucy clung tighter as they sped up, jolted as the bike climbed and then went airborne to land on the roof the silver car. There were shouts and she thought she heard a gunshot but Jason had them off the car and onto the road in seconds.

She looked back in time to see the cops climbing back into their car and begin pursuit. She couldn’t help a bit of admiration at their determination.

“They’re chasing us!” she shouted.

Jason grunted. “That’s okay, I can lose them.”

He wove them into the fabric of the late-night traffic, but still the silver car maintained pursuit. Lucy was certain they _could_ lose their tail, but they were attracting a bit more attention than she was comfortable with. She’d prefer Bruce didn’t hear about this on the news, to say the least.

She tapped on Jason’s shoulder twice to indicate she had an idea and then quickly tapped out Morse code—it was easier than shouting. He nodded in acceptance of the plan and quickly changed course, taking them into a more populated area and slowing down. Lucy let go of his waist, took off her helmet, securing it to the back of the bike and half stood, twisting to get a look at the pursuit car.

“Count of three, Luce!” he shouted.

“Got it!”

On three, he hit the brakes, twisting the bike around in a quick U-turn and releasing a smoke screen from a button on the dash. Lucy dove off, rolling into the jump and bouncing back up. She ran toward the night club Jason had specifically gotten her close to. The second she was in the alley, she started to strip. She tugged the tie from her hair, removing her jacket and gloves. By design, her utility belt had snaps that folded out fabric and with a few sure seconds of fiddling, she had a clutch.

Spotting the club’s back door, she slipped inside and then headed into the bathroom to finish her transformation. When she emerged, no one could have guessed she’d been tossing bad guys around for sport and just jumped off a motorcycle. Of all her siblings, Lucy was the one who most excelled at disguise. She loved it.

Her long dark curls were a bit tangled and sweat-sticky, but dancing would explain that away, and the only mark this club put on people was a quick slash of black ink across the back of the hand—easy enough to duplicate. She was stuck with her combat boots, but paired off with the basic black dress that had been hidden in the lining of her jacket, it suited her.

Now, she just had to blend in for a while until the heat died down.

Easy.

***

Steve watched in surprise as the pair on the motorcycle split up. The smaller, leaner figure rolling and coming back up. He was almost positive it had been a woman, but he hadn’t gotten a good look at her face. _Dark hair._

“Now what, partner?” Danny asked. “The bike or the one on foot?”

Steve shook his head. “I’ll take the pedestrian, just slow down so I can get out.”

“Keep your phone on.”

“Yes, Mom.” Steve flashed a grin, popping the door open the second Danny had slowed and jumping out, rolling to lessen the impact.

Danny reached over, pulling the door shut while muttering about Navy SEALS and their bad habits before taking off after the flashing tail light of the motorcycle.

Steve got up, hurrying down the side street he’d seen the perp head down. He was quick, checking each nook and crevice. A boot print on a piece of cardboard caught his attention—leading the way to the night club whose music he could hear thrumming like a baseline under his heart beat.

He raised his eyebrows. Danny would have called it gut instinct. Steve was just certain that someone highly trained enough to make that jump _might_ be trained enough to know how to go to ground.

He headed for the night club, flashing his badge at the bouncer and heading inside. The lights flashed in time to the music and the dance floor was still packed with last call a few hours away. He swept his gaze over the crowd, looking for dark hair—and finding a familiar face.

Lucy Wayne, dancing to the music like she wanted to become a part of it, eyes closed and hair flying.

He wanted to dismiss her, move on, but for one thing, he was supposed to be protecting her and for another…those boots were the right size and shape to have left the print he’d followed. But that didn’t make any damn sense at all.

Steve stalked through the crowd, looking for other pairs of boots, other dark haired girls—but the only one that seemed to match his blurry mental image was…the daughter of a billionaire.

Lucy had spotted Steve about thirty seconds after he got into the club. She could feel his eyes on her now, judging. She pulled a dance partner close, twisting around them to get a look at him.

He was definitely headed her way.

_If I run, I look guilty._

Option two then. Lucy smiled and slipped away from her dance partner, striding up to Steve with sultry intention. “Commander,” she raised her voice to be heard over the music. “Fancy meeting you here.” She tucked her hair behind her ear, showing off the mark on her hand. She could see his eyes inventorying the new piece of information.

“Miss Wayne,” he replied. “Don’t suppose you always go clubbing in boots like that?”

She shrugged. “They’re more comfortable than heels.”

Steve blinked. If she was lying, she was the best damn liar he’d ever seen. She hadn’t even flinched. Could he be wrong?

“So you weren’t just on a motorcycle then?”

Her only reaction was mild confusion, bright blue eyes widening, brow furrowing a touch. “Not tonight, Commander. I do ride—though my dad freaks out.”

Still no sign of deception but…after that encounter in the alley, he _had_ done some digging. Officially, Lucy Wayne had never worked for the FBI, but Lucy _Smith_ had and after a couple favors, Steve had managed to confirm the two were one in the same. Barely. He’d gotten a look at the rap sheet that went along with the identity, surprised to find that the Wayne heiress had once been a foster kid, a hacker, a criminal.

Maybe it wasn’t so great a stretch to think she might also be involved in what happened at the wharf.

_Maybe._

“How about I take you home, Miss Wayne?” he asked. It’d be easier to question her outside of the pounding music. “I bet someone is looking for you.”

“I’d be surprised if they weren’t,” she agreed. “Dad can be overprotective.” She smiled.

Steve couldn’t help that his heartbeat stuttered. That smile was all aggression and warmth at the same time.

“Great.” He wrapped a hand around her arm. “I’ll escort you out.”

Lucy was certain his hackles were still raised, but she wasn’t terribly concerned. There wasn’t really a problem the Wayne legal team couldn’t fix.

Which was proven in spades after that incident with Damian at the zoo.

Which they did not speak of.

Ever.

In the alley, Steve check his phone.

_Lost him._

_On the way back._

_Where are you???_

Steve sighed, quickly answering.

“Your partner?” Lucy asked.

“Yeah, he lost our other suspect.”

“Don’t let me hold you up, I can find my own way home.”

Steve turned toward her. “Somehow, I don’t doubt that.”

“Do you think I did something illegal, Commander?” she batted her eyelashes.

Right in that moment, yeah, he was pretty damn sure that the young woman standing in front of him with her muscular arms and combat boots was the same woman that was apparently responsible for catching a bunch of gun runners and gift-wrapping them for the police.

“Maybe.”

Her smile turned into a smirk, eyes darkening a touch. She looked…dangerous. It was only for a moment, but he saw the same look in her eyes he’d seen in the eyes of some soldiers, some cops. The same look he’d learned to use. Pure intimidation mixed with an open willingness to do harm if needed. The kind of look that made a perp shake in their boots and start reconsidering a full-confession right before Steve did something crazy…like toss a guy in a shark cage.

She was dangerous, pure and simple and he—in spite of knowing that what she’d done was illegal—was more than a little attracted to her. Her look said, _prove it_ , though the words never passed her lips.

_Prove it._

His heart skipped, and he couldn’t help but wonder, what would happen if he did.


	3. Magnetism

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Waynes go out for the evening.

“Why is it,” Bruce began, “that when I _specifically_ say that you are not to go out after gun running gangs, that is exactly what you go out and do?”

Jason was looking at his shoelaces and Lucy had found a _very_ interesting spot on the wall to stare at.

“Well?”

“We did catch the guys,” Jason said. “And I didn’t kill anyone.”

“That is an improvement,” Lucy added.

Neal was wondering if maybe Lucy had a death wish. He gave his twin a hard stare. She gave him a minute shrug in reply.

“This isn’t exactly a difficult concept,” Bruce went on. “We’re on _vacation._ ” He turned his Batman stare on each recalcitrant child in turn. “If I hear that you’ve so much as taken down a purse snatcher during the rest of this vacation, you will find yourselves scrubbing the manor from attic to basement with toothbrushes. Do I make myself clear?”

There was no arguing with him when he used the _voice._

“Yes sir.”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. Now, Lucy, why don’t you tell me why Commander McGarrett was looking at you like he wanted to put you in cuffs.” It was a look everyone in that room was intimately familiar with.

Selina raised her eyebrows at her daughter. “Oh yes, that is an excellent question.”

Lucy sighed. “He’s suspicious of me, but he has no proof.”

Bruce sighed. All he needed now was a cop with good instincts on his daughter’s trail. “So you will be extra careful for the rest of this vacation, right?”

“I will be the picture of a spoiled heiress, I promise.”

“Good.” Bruce looked around the room. “Everyone should go back to bed—and Damian, I know you’re on the roof, go to bed.”

There was a thud on the roof in response.

Lucy hid a smile. _Two more weeks in paradise with no vigilantism. How hard can that possibly be?_

***

It was so hard.

She’d laid on the beach, gone swimming, attempted surfing, shopped, eaten her weight in sea food and been harassed by paparazzi and…that was just in two days. Bored, she padded out onto the porch to bother Neal, who was painting while Sara was off getting spa treatments with Selina and Tim. Tim liked a good seaweed wrap.

“Neal…” Lucy whined.

He glanced at her. “Yes, sunshine?”

“I’m bored.”

“I’m not going to enable you, Lucy. Why don’t you go…sketch something? You did promise Barry a souvenir, didn’t you? Personal is always better.”

Lucy sighed. “I guess.”

Neal bent over, digging through his supply bag and combing up with a sketchbook and a drafting pencil, putting them into his twin’s hands. “There you are. You can pretend you’re surveilling something if it makes you feel better.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Lucy!” Damian called.

Lucy turned in time to see her little brother swing down off the roof and land on the patio. “Hey, trouble.”

Damian had grown in the last few years, reaching the gangly stage of teenagedom. “Have you seen my spare batarangs?”

“No. But I’d bet money Bruce has them.”

Damian frowned. “I just want to try to knock coconuts out of the trees.”

“Uh huh.” Lucy closed the distance between them, ruffling his hair. “Sorry, kid. You’ll just have to use rocks like a normal teenager.”

“Ew.”

Lucy chuckled and headed out to the front of the house, settling down on the front porch and sketching some of the scenery. Without really thinking about it, she began sketching a face. She wasn’t intentionally drawing anyone—but as she filled in the details Commander McGarrett’s face came into focus.

She frowned. Sure, he was attractive. Sure, she’d dug more into his personnel records and arrest reports. He was competent. Insanely competent. Hell, he’d probably make a decent Bat. He verged on superhuman, and she’d met actual superhuman people. Hell, one of the JLA’s contacts lived pretty close to Hawaii. Well, sort of. Aquaman’s address came in coordinates and ocean depth. He was one of the few members she hadn’t met.

Lucy’d had a few relationships over the last couple years. There was Quinn, the retrieval specialist. She dated Roy Harper for a hot minute and even had a little fling with…well, it was best not to think about that one.

“He’s cute,” Babs remarked.

“Thanks.” Lucy closed the sketchbook, glancing at her sister-in-law. “What’s up?”

“Not much. Just saw you out here and wondered what you were up to. I didn’t realize you were pining.”

“I am _not_ pining. I just…drew him.” Lucy glared at Babs. “I was bored, Neal suggested I draw something.”

“Right. Well, you’ll be happy to know that you have plans this evening.” Babs grinned.

Lucy felt her stomach sink. “No.”

“Yup.”

Lucy groaned. “Why do _I_ have to these stupid meet and greets with Dad?”

“Well, you are photogenic, you can fake nice better than Jason and you look better in a dress than Tim—plus you’ve never tried to kill a reporter.”

Damian did not like reporters.

Lucy considered all those factors with a wry expression. “True. Is it just me?”

“Nope, you and Neal, Selina, Bruce and Dick.”

“Not you?”

Babs shook her head. “I volunteered to babysit.”

“Uh huh.”

“Don’t look so glum. Commander McGarrett will be there too, he’s on security detail.” Babs grinned. “You should wear that blue Marchesa. It’s not too long, and you can probably still fight in it.”

Lucy knew damn well she could. “Fine.”

“I’m also recommending the Cartier collar.”

“We brought that?”

Babs gave her a slightly condescending look.

“Right, of course we did.” Lucy nodded. “All right, well, if I’m going I best get ready. Want to help?”

“I’d love to.”

Nothing like one of Bruce’s fancy meet and greets to make a girl feel pretty.

***

Steve wasn’t thrilled to be on babysitting detail, but he knew all too well how often people like Bruce Wayne were targeted by criminals. And he did want to get another look at Lucy. And damn, did he get another look at Lucy. She walked into the room on her twin brother’s arm. Her short blue dress hugged her body, the sapphire fabric bringing out the color of her eyes. A glittering diamond necklace encircled her throat. All that long dark hair was twined, piled and pinned on top of her head. Her long legs were bare, and her heels black—and not nearly as tall as he would have expected.

“Damn.”

Danny followed his partner’s line of sight. “She cleans up nice, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah.” Steve blinked. “She does.” She looked like a princess.

Lucy noticed Steve’s eyes on her and felt somewhat gratified that she’d let Babs pick the dress.

“That burly cop is looking at you,” Neal noted.

“I’m aware.”

“Is he why you wore that dress?” Neal glanced at her.

She hated a little that he knew her so well. “Maybe.”

Neal smiled. “Want me to pick his pocket? A man’s wallet is a treasure trove.”

“I already read all his files.”

“Of course you did.”

 She shrugged.

“Lucy, dear,” Selina said. “Do you want a drink?”

Lucy glanced at her mother. A server stood next to her with a tray of drinks. “Sure.” Lucy claimed a flute of champagne with a smile and turned back to Neal. “Behave.”

“No promises, sunshine.” Neal flashed his best devil-may-care smile and slipped away.

Lucy really wished the Burkes could have come along on this trip. No one kept Neal out of mischief like Peter. But the Burkes were a little busy at the moment with _little_ Neal. He was a handful and he did not fly well. No one wanted to put him through the long flight to Hawaii. Sara had barely gotten approval to come, and only after Dr. Thompkins found an OBGYN she approved on the island. The Wayne family physician was very protective.

Lucy pretended to take a sip of the champagne, but she didn’t drink at these things.

Steve couldn’t help noticing as the evening went on, that Lucy never took a second glass of champagne. Couldn’t help but notice how easily she slipped in and out of conversations, the thin veneer of a socialite consistently applied to just the right people. She seemed to have a thousand different smiles, her tone shifting with each new conversation. She was a social chameleon—and so was her brother.

The twins worked through the crowd with the skill of expert con artists, because of course, that’s what they used to be. It was a bit unnerving.

The evening was winding down when Steve felt like something was…off. He couldn’t pinpoint the reason, but his hackles were up.

He wasn’t the only one. Bruce had wandered back to Selina, who was scanning the perimeter and the twins had moved in next to Dick. A glass shattered as it was dropped onto the floor—and then all hell broke loose.

***

Steve’s ears were ringing. He hadn’t expected the flash-bang. He blinked and swallowed, finally getting his ears to pop. The smoke was starting to clear. He spotted Danny first, unharmed and scanning the area, gun drawn.

“Do you see any perps?” Danny called.

“No.” Steve began a head count of their people. _Kono, Chin—Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle—Neal Wayne, Richard Wayne…_ He kept looking, but that bright blue dress was nowhere to be seen. “Lucy?”

Danny picked up the tone in his partner’s voice and looked toward him. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t see Lucy Wayne.”

Her family had come to the same conclusion. Neal looked a bit panicked, looking around for any evidence she could have left behind. Dick pulled out his phone and brought up the tracking app Tim had designed. Every member of the family carried a GPS tracker on their person. With any luck, she’d still have it on her.

“I’ve got a location,” Dick said a moment later, “on the move.”

Steve hurried over. “She has a tracking chip on her?”

“Yeah.” Dick handed Steve his phone. “After she and Neal were kidnapped in Gotham a couple years ago…well we didn’t want that to happen again.” Dick glanced at Bruce.

“I’m going to go get her,” Steve promised. “You should all stay here until HPD finishes taking your statements.”

Bruce looked like he was about to say something when Selina put a hand on his arm. “Dearest, let the experts handle this. I’m sure Commander McGarrett will bring Lucy home safely.”

Bruce swallowed before nodding. “Of course.”

“We’ll get your daughter back,” Danny said.

Steve looked at the rest of his team. “Kono, stay here with Chin until HPD gets here, I’ll call if we need back up.”

“Right, boss.”

“I’ll bring your phone back,” Steve called as he ran out of the building, Danny on his heels.

Dick glanced at Neal. “You think I’m getting my phone back?”

“Fifty-fifty,” Neal replied. “Now, the real question, is Lucy going to _need_ rescuing?”

Selina snorted. “Knowing your sister, I very much doubt it.”

***

Lucy was, in a word, annoyed. Being kidnapped always annoyed her. They’d put a bag over her head and ziptied her hands behind her back. She had to give it to them, they’d hit hard and fast. That showed at least some skill, but tying someone’s hands behind their back? That was a rookie move. She’d managed to get the tie off about five minutes after they’d tossed her into the back of the van. She estimated this little kidnapping would last maybe all of twenty minutes. They hadn’t checked her for a tracking device, they hadn’t even patted her down for weapons. Though they did take her shoes.  

They thought she was just another spoiled rich girl—well, that was their mistake.

A sudden squeal of brakes sent her careening into the wall of the van. Okay, that hurt. She was definitely going to have a bruise there come morning. She was pressed against the wall again as the van spun. She didn’t wait any longer, grabbing the bag off her head and throwing her hands out to brace herself. Which unfortunately alerted the one guy in the back with her that she wasn’t helpless anymore.

He tried to grab her, but the van wasn’t exactly moving in a straight line. Lucy pushed off the wall and he slammed into it with a grunt. The van came to a stop as Lucy tried to get to her feet and she fell flat on her ass. She grimaced and got back up in time to meet her kidnapper’s next assault.

This guy was _not_ good at close combat. Lucy…was. She grabbed his wrist, twisting it until it broke before taking hold of his elbow and slamming him into the floor, pulling his arm back until she heard the shoulder dislocate. He screamed.

“Don’t be such a baby,” she muttered. “I could have broken your elbow too, and I didn’t. Be grateful.”

Moments later, the van doors opened, Lucy dropped into a relaxed stance in preparation for another fight—but it wasn’t another kidnapper.

“Commander?”

Steve glanced down at the groaning man at her feet. “Nicely done.”

“Thanks.”

He held out a hand, gun pointed at the kidnapper.

Lucy took his hand, letting him help her out of the van. “You work fast, Commander.”

“I had some help.” He glanced down. “Where are your shoes?”

“I have literally no idea.” She shrugged. “His wrist is broken and I dislocated his shoulder.”

“Good to know.” Steve couldn’t hide his smile. “You should got sit in my car. I’ll get you back to your family.”

“You seem to be making a habit of taking me home, Commander.” She gave him a smile. “One of these days maybe you’ll pick me up instead.” She raised her eyebrow. “Or something.”

Steve swallowed. “I’m pretty sure your family isn’t going to stick around the island after this.”

“Waynes don’t cut their vacations short for kidnappings, especially incompetent ones.” She tossed her head. “If we did, we’d never get to take one in the first place.”

Danny over heard this as he was walking his own perp back. “That girl might just be as crazy as you are, Steve.”

Steve shrugged, grabbing the guy in the back of the van. “You say that like it’s a bad thing, Danno.”

“Yeah, it’s a bad thing. I’m having visions of you and her terrorizing the islands together.” Danny looked over the groaning man Steve had dragged out of the van. “I mean, look at that guy.”

Steve smiled. “I like a woman who can take care of herself.”

Danny shook his head. “Just remember she has about six brothers and her father’s security team is basically a small army.”

“Noted.”


	4. First Date

“They were locals,” Steve explained. “They saw a high profile target they thought would be easy money. They were wrong.”

Lucy snorted. “Yeah.”

“Sweetheart, please don’t laugh off kidnapping attempts, it worries me,” Selina remarked. “And you’re giving your father high blood pressure.”

Bruce was looking a bit worse for wear. He didn’t like it when people kidnapped his children. If the cops hadn’t responded so quickly, his vigilante ban would have been lifted in a heartbeat.

“Your speedy recovery of my daughter is appreciated, Commander,” Bruce said. “I hope you don’t mind her…enthusiasm. We make sure all the kids know how to defend themselves in the case of kidnapping.”

“Sensible,” Danny said. “The guys were all very impressed with how many of the perp’s bones she managed to break.”

Lucy smiled. “Thank you.”

“Sounds like Lucy,” Neal remarked.

“Yes, well, we’ve had an exciting evening, I think everyone needs to go to bed.” Bruce glanced around at his children.

“Great,” Lucy hopped up from her seat. “Night.”

“You can wait until someone checks you over for injuries,” Bruce said.

“The EMT checked me out.”

“No he didn't,” Dick added. “You threatened him and he let you go.”

Lucy sighed. She hadn’t realized Dick had been there for that. “I’m fine.”

“You’d say that if you were dying,” Neal said. “Night, sunshine.” He made himself scarce, herding the rest of the younger Waynes with him.

“Commander, you must have first aid training,” Selina looked at Steve. “Would you mind taking a look at Lucy before you leave?”

Lucy gave her mother a look that could have melted steel.

“Uh, I guess…”

“Perfect, come on Bruce, bedtime.” Selina grabbed Bruce by the arm. “Lucy can show these lovely officers out before she goes to bed.” With a bright smile, she towed him out of his seat and off to their bedroom.

“Your mother is…odd,” Danny said.

“Yeah…” Lucy shook her head. “She’s always been like that. Let me show you out.” She stood up and started walking toward the door.

Steve stopped her with a hand on her arm. “I told your mother I would make sure you weren’t injured.”

Lucy gave him a look. “Do you plan on insisting?”

“I think if I don’t, _I_ might end up injured.” He gave her a wry smile. “Come on.”

“Fine—the kitchen has better lighting.” She led the way into the kitchen, flipping on the lights and hopping up onto a stool. She was grateful she’d had time to change. Her dress had been a bit worse for wear. The tank top and shorts she wore as pajamas didn’t cover anymore skin than the dress had. The bruises she’d acquired being slammed into the van walls were blooming now. Her mostly nocturnal lifestyle and naturally pale skin couldn’t be counteracted by a few days slathered in sunscreen of the highest SPF on the market.

Steve hadn’t gotten a good look at the bruises before, but now that he could see the blotchy red and purpling marks, he hissed in sympathy. “Those look like they hurt.”

Lucy shrugged. “I’ve had worse from falling off a horse.”

“Any pain in your arms or legs?”

“Not really.”

Steve raised an eyebrow at her. “You sure about that?”

“I’m not limping and I have full range of motion.” She rotated her hands and then demonstrated that her elbow joints were intact before raising her arms over her head. “See?”

“I see.” Steve looked her in the eyes. “I see an older bruise on your shoulder. You get that diving off a motorcycle?”

Danny rolled his eyes. He wasn’t quite as sold on Steve’s theory about the Wayne heiress.

Lucy returned the look. “That sounds like an incredibly reckless thing to do. I of course, try not to do reckless things as that would upset my father.”

“Uh huh.” Steve’s brow furrowed. “The guys that were giftwrapped down at the wharf. They were bad guys. It was good to have to get them off the streets but we can’t have vigilantes on the island.”

“I’m sure if there are any vigilantes on this island, they’ll be very circumspect knowing that there’s such a…dedicated, task force.” She smiled. “I guess I’m just used to seeing vigilantes do the job. Gotham is a…different place.”

“I’ve heard that about Gotham.” He tilted his head. “How long are you going to be in Honolulu?”

“At least another week or so.”

“I—have you ever had loco moco?”

“No.” Lucy smiled. “What is it?”

“It’s breakfast but…you shouldn’t leave the island without trying it. What do you say to breakfast?”

“Pick me up at nine?”

“Nine?” He smiled. “That’s pretty late.”

“Yeah, but see, I kind of got kidnapped tonight and I’m pretty tired.”

“Nine it is.”

Danny shook his head and stalked toward the front door, muttering under his breath about his partner’s incessant need to do dangerous things.

***

“Where are you going?” Damian asked, eyeing his sister from his perch on the porch roof.

“I’m getting breakfast.” Lucy gave him a smile. “I’ll be back.”

“Does Dad know you’re going out?”

“Of course not.” She winked and vanished into the shrubbery. Lucy had picked out this path their first day on the island. It was always a good idea to have all escape routes mapped out ahead of time. And if there weren’t any, you created them.

She slipped past the paparazzi—there were a few more of them this morning—and was already at the passenger door of Steve’s truck before he knew she was there, knocking softly to alert him.

Steve didn’t look surprised, smiling and shaking his head before beckoning her into the truck. Lucy grinned and slipped inside.

“Good morning,” she said.

“Good morning. You make a habit of stealth approaches?”

“Well, if you’re going to avoid a bunch of money hungry cameramen, you learn stealth.” She pulled her sunglasses out of her pocket and slid them on. “See? I’m completely unrecognizable.”

“Right.” He started the truck and pulled out. “Completely.” He took her to the drive in for breakfast before driving to a more secluded section of beach where there were picnic tables.

Lucy sat down on the table rather than the bench, flashing a smile. “Eggs, rice…gravy. It smells good.”

“It is good.” Steve sat down _at_ the table next to her. “You always ignore the laws of furniture?”

She shrugged. “Just felt like being tall.”

He shook his head. “You’re already tall. Your whole family is tall. Which is weird since they aren’t all actually related.”

“It just sort of happened. Dad likes having a big family. I do to. I grew up mostly alone except for Neal—and then we separated and I was totally alone. Ever since I found out I _had_ a family…” she shrugged. “They’re a lot but it’s nice.” She started in on her breakfast. It _was_ good.

“I’ve got a sister,” Steve said. “She’s a lot all on her own.”

Lucy grinned. “My youngest brother is like that. Trouble.”

“I’ve seen some things in the news about him. Did he really set someone’s car on fire because they tried to take pictures of you?”

“Maybe.” It wasn’t the most destructive/protective thing her brothers had done. There was a certain FBI agent who would never forget them, that’s for sure.

Steve shook his head.

“You should be more worried about Neal. He’s sneaky.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

This was…nice. The beach, the sea air—the company. She didn’t really do this sort of thing. It was way more normal than her usual dates. Her usual dates were of more…nocturnal variety. Taking down some drug dealers or maybe a second-rate super villain. You know, light stuff. She helped Quinn on a retrieval once. Barry had tried to convince her to try going out with someone more normal. He’d even set her up with one of his friends. It hadn’t worked out.

But this wasn’t like that either. She didn’t feel like she had to be somebody else with him. With the capes she’d dated, she couldn’t really be Lucy and with the non-capes, she couldn’t be Batgirl. Right now she didn’t feel like she had to put on a face with Steve. Of course, she also couldn’t just tell him she was the vigilante from the wharf—even if he was pretty sure that she was.

“Why’d you leave law enforcement?” Steve asked.

Lucy shook her head. “The FBI screwed me. Then someone tried to kill me and my brother…it was just easier if I disappeared.”

Steve was pretty sure there was more to it than that, but wasn’t going to press. “You liked it though? Helping people, stopping bad guys?”

Lucy looked at Steve and smiled. “Yeah, I did. And I’m not going to incriminate myself for the thing I was not involved in.”

Steve smiled back. “Right. Totally not involved. Though, if you were, I would have say that you do good work. Even if I can’t condone it.”

“Uh huh.” She bit her lip. “What about you, did you always want to be super cop?”

“Super cop?” He snorted. “I was Navy first. I just sort of ended up with this task force. Turned out I was good at it. I like helping people.”

“Stopping bad guys?”

“Yeah.”

She set the remains of her breakfast aside and leaned forward onto her elbows. “You are pretty good at it.”

“Pretty good?” He raised his eyebrows.

“Okay, _very_ good.” She looked him the eyes. “This is nice. Nobody has ever taken me for breakfast before.”

“That is a crying shame,” Steve replied.

Lucy wasn’t sure precisely who moved first, but at some point the careful equilibrium of distance between them changed. She leaned a bit closer and he leaned up. The balance shifting. Steve’s hands on either side of her, arms framing her in. Lucy felt her heart pounding in her chest. He smelled good. A little chill rolled over her shoulders and back. She licked her lips, keeping eye contact.

When he finally closed that last bit of distance, pressing his lips against her’s, Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck. She could taste the salty gravy from breakfast. His lips were softer than she expected. _Damn. He’s good._ It was just the right amount of pressure. When he pulled back, she spotted the smirk on his lips.

“Proud of yourself?” she asked.

“Not yet.”

Oh, this was going to be a wonderful morning.


	5. Dangerous

Lucy wasn’t the only one with plans that morning. Neal was stuck heading to a charity event with Tim and Bruce. Neal always got stuck going to any events that involved gambling. He did have more than just a knack for poker after all.

“Isn’t it weird for this event to be in the morning?” Neal asked.

“It’s a theme,” Tim replied. “There are mimosas.”

Neal shook his head. “Well, I do like mimosas.”

The venue was a fancy hotel, tables set up in the ballroom. Neal grabbed a drink and headed for Texas Hold ‘Em after receiving his chips. His charity of choice helped find permanent homes for kids in the foster system. He’d played through a few hands and had a few drinks that were more orange juice than champagne, made pleasant conversation and stolen a couple watches when he spotted someone familiar walking around the tables with a clipboard in hand.

He swallowed and turned his smile to the dealer. “Excuse me, could you tell me who that woman is?” He gestured.

“Oh, that’s Holly Malone, she’s the event organizer.”

“Thank you.” _Holly Malone…_ Neal finished up his game before moving in to corner “Miss Malone”.  He had to admit that the last few years had made him even stealthier than he used to be. Sure, he’d chosen to work with Sara as a recovery agent for Sterling Bosch instead of leaping off tall buildings and beating up criminals, but he was still a Wayne. He cornered her in the hall outside the ballroom.

“Holly Malone is a decent alias,” he remarked, “ _Alex_.”

She froze, turning toward him. “Neal?”

“Hey.” Neal smiled. “It’s good to see you again.”

***

“No, cats are great,” Steve stressed. “They’re highly intelligent, adorable ninjas.”

Lucy grinned. “I think my mother is going to like you.”

“She likes cats?”

“Yeah.” _More than you’ll ever know._ She couldn’t help her smile as he walked her to the porch. Lucy took note of Babs and Damian, not so subtly waiting for her. “Hey guys.”

“Lucy,” Babs smiled. “Commander.”

Damian narrowed his eyes at Steve. “I hope your intentions are honorable.”

“ _Damian_ ,” Lucy groaned. “It was breakfast and this is the twenty-first century.”

Her brother ignored her, gaze still fixed. “Just so you know, if you hurt my sister, I’ll kill you.”

Steve blinked, clearly uncertain how to respond to the gangly teen. “Uh—okay. But I’m pretty sure that Lucy would kill me first.” He smirked.

Damian wrinkled his nose. “Point.” The teen nodded and vanished back into the house.

Babs sighed. “Well, that went better than expected.”

“How many brothers did you say you have again?” Steve asked. “And do you think they’ll all threaten me?”

“Too many, and yes.” Lucy smiled and gave him a quick kiss. “I’ll see you tomorrow night then, right?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “I’ll be there.”

Lucy watched him leave with a wistful smile.

“Wow, you’ve got it bad.” Babs put a hand on her shoulder. “And that man has a very fine set of shoulders.”

“Yes, yes he does.” Lucy glanced at Babs. “Among other things.”

“Ooh…spill.”

“Let’s get out of Damian’s spy range first.”

“Good idea.”

***

“So, Hawaii…I thought you were more of a European kind of girl,” Neal said.

Alex sighed. “What can I say? Tropical paradise called to me…and Interpol is still a bit _annoyed_ about some thefts I’m allegedly responsible for.” She gave him a look. “What are you doing in Hawaii?”

“I’m sure you heard about my family.” Neal returned the look. “I mean, the press isn’t exactly subtle.”

“That’s true, _Mr. Wayne._ I even heard about your wedding. I suppose congratulations are in order. Sara looks like a nice girl.”

“She’s great.”

Alex smiled. “I’m glad you’re happy, Neal.”

“And what about you? Are you happy?”

She shrugged. “I’m not _unhappy_. Besides, I have friends here. There’s this quirky little guy who runs an art gallery. He fences things for me sometimes.”

Neal raised his eyebrows. “Mozzie is here?”

“I take it you didn’t know.” Alex grinned.

“He told me he was going to find himself.” Neal sighed. “You have an address?”

“Of course.” She pulled out her phone. “Maybe the three of us could get together? For old times’ sake?”

Neal nodded. “I’d like that. You can meet my sister, my brothers—my mother.”

“I’ve kind of always wanted to meet Selina Kyle,” Alex admitted.

The pair exchanged numbers and Alex texted him the gallery’s address.

Neal wasn’t sure if Alex was being honest about her reasons for being in Hawaii, but he had missed her—and Mozzie. It couldn’t be a complete coincidence that his old partners were here the same time he was, and he would get to the bottom of it. One way, or another.

***

“So how was your date…?” Sara was settled in the living room, eating ice cream from a bowl balanced on her stomach.

“It was good.” Lucy eyed the ice cream. “What flavor is that?”

“Pineapple.”

“Yum.” Lucy plopped down at Sara’s feet.

“He’s very _tall_ ,” Sara noted. “Commanding.”

“He is. And he’s also a very good kisser.” Lucy grinned.

“Do you have another date set up?”

“We do. He’s going to join me for that benefit gala thing. I’ll wear a backless dress and he’ll wear a tux and if I’m _very_ lucky, we’ll find a nice coat closet to make-out in.”

“That seems like a sound plan.” Sara smiled. “When is Neal supposed to be back?”

Lucy checked the family schedule on her phone. “Should be headed back now.”

“Oh good.” She set her empty bowl aside. “So…if you and the good commander go on another date, and another—that’s quite a bit better than your usual as I recall.”

“A bit.” Lucy pulled up a game on her phone. “I like him, he’s honest—and he totally knows I was the vigilante at the docks.”

“Of course he does.” Sara shook her head. “You like living dangerously, don’t you?”

“It’s in my blood. Neal does it too.”

“Neal gets his thrills _away_ from gunfire,” Sara corrected. “You run toward it. I’m glad he’s got his mother’s sensibilities toward violence.”

“You and me both.”

“What’ll you do if things get serious with _Steve_?”

Lucy shrugged. “I don’t know. Haven’t thought about it. Chances are we’ll have to break it off. I’ll go back to Gotham. Do what I do. Have one night stands.”

“That sounds really lonely, Lucy.”

Lucy swallowed. “Yeah. I’m tired of doing it too.” She shook her head, glancing at Sara. “I mean, I love catching bad guys but maybe…maybe there’s another way.”

“Maybe.” Sara wriggled to a more upright position. “I’m not a girl who thinks you need a guy to be complete, Lucy, but I haven’t met a single person who can completely convince you that jumping into danger headfirst isn’t always the best idea. Not Bruce, not Selina, not even Neal can pull you back but after breakfast with this guy, you’re asking yourself if there’s another way? You might want to consider why that is.”

Lucy’s lips parted to reply—and the boys returned, Neal bouncing into the living room as he tugged his tie knot loose.

“So Mozzie and Alex are in Hawaii.” He leaned down to kiss Sara. “What’s new with you two?”

Lucy exchanged a look with Sara and turned a smile to Neal. “Nothing much.”

“Great, who wants to go see Mozzie then?”

Lucy leaned back into her seat, half-listening while Neal and Sara mused about Mozzie and Alex’s purpose in Hawaii.

_What do I want? Really want?_ She hadn’t considered that since the day she decided to stay. The day she accepted that she was Lucy Wayne. _Who am I if I’m not Batgirl?_

She didn’t have an answer to that, but she really, _really_ wanted one.

***

Steve headed into work feeling like he could take on the whole world. He could still taste Lucy’s lips. See those blue, blue eyes widening when he tugged on her hair and hear the soft little sounds she made when he kissed her.

“Hey, Boss,” Kono said. “You look happy.”

“I am happy,” Steve replied, walking up to the computers. “Lucy and I had breakfast.”

“Oooh.”

“What’s Kono making noises about?” Danny asked.

“Steve had a _date_.” Kono glanced at Danny, a smile stretched across her face. “Breakfast, with Lucy Wayne.”

Danny shook his head. “You are attracted to dangerous women, you know that, my friend?”

“She’s not dangerous,” Steve replied.

“I think Danny’s right about this one,” Chin added, walking in with his coffee in one hand a file in the other. “That girl is dangerous.”

“Why, because she’s a Wayne?” Steve raised an eyebrow. “Or because she worked for the FBI?”

“Because she’s got a list of enemies longer than yours.” Chin set the file down. “And one of them just landed in Honolulu.”

“Who?” Steve frowned.

“Victor Lombardo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a bit shorter than usual, but I wanted to get an update and end dramatically. 
> 
> For those of you who don't recall, Victor Lombardo is the man Lucy was on the run from when she joined the FBI.


	6. Old Enemies

Neal eyed the art gallery speculatively. He hadn’t been sure what to expect, but the tidy, modern looking gallery wasn’t quite Mozzie’s taste. He checked his watch, everyone else was already off at the benefit. He’d managed to beg off, barely. His mother was slightly suspicious, but she’d understand. His family was generally suspicious. It was a natural state of being when you did the kinds of things his family did.

He adjusted his sunglasses and his hat before heading into the gallery. He felt a lot like his old self. The linen suit, the hat, it was all very much Caffrey. That was the point though. He wasn’t walking around the city as a Wayne, that was just asking for paparazzi to harass him. This was easier.

The bell above the door jingled, summoning a familiar face. Mozzie wore a suit and a smile. A smile that flickered just a touch when he saw who’d come through the door. “Neal?”

“Hey there, Mr. Hirsch,” Neal said. “You look good.” He smiled. “So, you want to tell me what you and Alex are _really_ doing in Hawaii at the same time I’m here?”

“What can I say? I wanted some sun.”

“Moz, you once told me you were allergic to the sun.”

“A person can change, Neal.”

Neal took off his sunglasses and raised his eyebrows. “Really, Moz?”

The little man sighed. “Fine. Lock the door and come to the back. We’ll talk.”

Neal locked the door. This was sure to be an interesting story.

***

Steve took a breath, taking one last glance at the file pulled up on his phone before tucking it into his pocket. Chin was right about Lucy having dangerous enemies. Victor Lombardo was dangerous. He was vicious. And Lucy had really managed to piss him off. How the man got here, he wasn’t sure, and he didn’t care. He wasn’t going to let Lombardo get within five hundred yards of Lucy.

“Nice tux, boss,” Kono remarked.

He glanced at her, taking in the little black dress. “Nice dress.”

“Thanks.” She grinned. “You ready to go inside?”

“Yeah.” He nodded sharply. “Keep your eyes open.”

“I will.”

Danny and Chin were waiting for them at the doors into the ballroom. Tonight they were meant to blend into the crowd and the whole team was dressed to impress. Steve adjusted his tie a touch and strode into the ballroom. He scanned the crowd, searching for one face. One perfect pair of blue eyes.

And she was wearing a black halter dress tonight that showed off her back, and given that he couldn’t see any of the bruises he knew were scattered across her legs and shoulder, incredibly good makeup. It had a slit up to her thigh, and he wasn’t confident that she was wearing underwear.

He swallowed, hard.

“She looks like she came to conquer,” Kono remarked.

“She always does.”

She turned toward him, a smile brightening her face the moment her eyes found him. His heart thudded. _Good lord, what have I gotten myself into?_

Lucy strode toward him, dress glittering like stars in the night sky and that line of smooth skin flashing with every stride. “Commander.”

“Miss Wayne.”

“I hear there are very spacious closets in this hotel.”

His throat went dry. “Really?”

She hummed affirmative. The string quartet on the small corner stage struck up a waltz. Her eyes widened just a touch. “Do you waltz, Commander?”

“I think you’ll find I do many things, Miss Wayne.”

 _She has dimples._ How had he not noticed the dimples before? He held out a hand, she took it. _I am so in over my head._ He pulled her closer, put his free hand on her waist and began the waltz. He couldn’t help remembering breakfast. Remember how close she’d been then and how close she was now. He could smell her perfume, something sweet and just a touch spicy.

He pulled her closer. “You look beautiful.”

“I know, but thank you.” She grinned. “You look rather delectable yourself.”

“Thanks.” He fixed that smile into his mind. He knew he had to tell her, sooner rather than later, about Lombardo, but he wanted…he wanted a few perfect moments first. They finished the waltz and he escorted her back to the perimeter of the room. One of her brothers—Tim, he was relatively certain—was already there.

“You dance very well, Commander,” Lucy said. “Where did you learn?”

“Annapolis.” He licked his lips. “It’s part of officer training.”

Her brow furrowed. “I don’t think I believe you.”

Tim stepped up, handing Lucy a glass of wine. His eyes narrowed on Steve. “I know people in every continent you know,” he remarked. “Dangerous people.”

Lucy sighed. “ _Tim_.”

“What? I do.”

Lucy gave her brother a look that suggested she might do him bodily harm.

Tim shrugged it off and turned his attention back to Steve. “You’ll keep that in mind, won’t you Commander?”

Steve nodded. “I will.”

“Good.” Tim nodded back and slipped away.

“Are all of your brothers going to threaten me with bodily harm?” Steve asked.

“Probably, yes.” She smiled. “You want to go find one of those closets now?” She batted her eyelashes.

He suppressed a growl. Oh, he _definitely_ wanted to. But he was pretty sure if he whisked her off to a closet with…half of her family present, he’d never hear the end of it. And if whatever this was, was going to go anywhere he was pretty sure he’d need at least one of the Wayne’s on his side. Bruce Wayne would be his preference, but he was almost certain Ms. Kyle was at least partially on his side.

“As much as I would love that, I think you deserve better than a closet, Miss Wayne.”

Her dimples were back in full force. “That’s very sweet of you.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

“You’re afraid of my father seeing us sneak off, aren’t you?”

“Just a little.”

She leaned up and kissed his cheek. “It’s a common concern.”

“There is—there is something I need to tell you though.” He pulled her a bit closer to the wall. “5O keeps a close eye on the people who come in and out of the island. We have a list of everyone considered dangerous to your family and…one of them is on the island. They flew in under an assumed name but facial recognition popped a match.”

Lucy frowned. “Who?”

“Victor Lombardo.”

The color drained from her face, with her hand still in his, he could feel a slight tremor run through it. “No.”

“We’ve doubled security. I promise he won’t get anywhere near you.”

“He doesn’t have to get near me to do something to hurt me. He’ll hurt my family. He’ll hurt bystanders. He doesn’t care so long as he gets to me somehow. Hurts me somehow.” She swallowed. “How did he find me? How…he doesn’t even really know what I look like. Someone would have had to have told him who I really was, given him details—” She paused, clenching her jaw. “Cooper.”

“I’m sorry, who?”

“Cooper.” She pulled her hand free. “This has that bastard written all over it.”

Tim returned just in time to hear the name and quickly moved in close to his sister. “Cooper did what?” He put a hand on her shoulder. “Lucy?”

“Victor Lombardo is on the island,” she said softly. “Cooper must have told him who I was. Lombardo only had my screenname. He only knew me as Mona Lisa. He had a blurry photo. There’s no way he found me on his own.”

Tim shook his head and pulled his phone from his jacket. “I’ll let everyone know. Do you want Barry on this?”

She took a breath. “Not yet.”

“Okay.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“No.”

Tim looked at Steve. “Why don’t you take her to the lobby so she can sit down?”

“Sure.” Steve nodded. “Come on Lucy.”

Her hand was still shaking when she slipped it into his. He squeezed, trying for reassurance. He didn’t know who this Cooper guy was, he didn’t know why Lombardo wanted to hurt her—he was going to have to find out. It probably wasn’t going to be a fun conversation.

***

“Welcome to my bat-cave,” Mozzie said, gesturing at the well-appointed backroom hidden behind a false wall in his gallery office. “I’ve got ears all over the islands.”

Neal nodded. “It’s impressive. Why?”

“Why? Because your sister is in danger.”

“What?”

Mozzie took a breath. “I heard through the rumor mill that someone reached out to Victor Lombardo about Lucy. I figured there should be an early warning system in place. I mean, Batman has Gotham covered, but Hawaii? This is a totally different ballgame. So I came out first. Got settled. Happened on Alex.”

“Victor Lombardo knows Lucy’s face?”

“Yeah.”

Neal swore. “He wants her dead, Moz.”

“Hence my attempt at reconnaissance. According to my sources, he’s here, but he hasn’t had time to establish himself yet. That little kidnapping stunt the other day? I think that was his first foray.”

“Fantastic.” Neal shook his head. “Then we just have to go back to the mainland. We can shore up better defenses there.”

“You have the whole Bat Squad right here, I think you’re more than a match for one guy with a grudge.”

“He’s not just some guy with a grudge, Moz.” Neal took a breath. “He wants Lucy dead.”

“Exactly what did your sister do to piss this guy off?” Mozzie asked. “I mean, she doesn’t talk about it.”

“When she was Mona Lisa, he hired her to do some work for him.”

“Okay.”

“Well,” Neal fussed with his shirt sleeves. “when she found out what he was really up to, she turned him in to the police.”

“Well, clearly prison didn’t take.”

“No. He managed to stay ahead of the cops. For a while. They tracked him down and shot him. He lost an eye. Nearly died. Blames Lucy for all of it.”

“So it’s a blood grudge?”

“You could say that. The point is, he’s not going to stop. He’s one of those old school gangster, Moz. He won’t stop.”

“And why hasn’t the FBI or some other organization put him behind bars? He’s still a criminal, right?”

“They get close, he slips away.” Neal shook his head. “We have to stop him this time, Moz. For good.”

“You’re sounding a lot like Jason right now, mon frère, that’s not a good thing.”

Neal shrugged. “I have to call Dad, tell him what’s going on.” He pulled out his phone. “Do you have an address for Lombardo?”

“Of course.”

“Good. We put Lucy on a plane and then we put this monster behind bars.”

Or in a grave. Depended on which brother got to him first.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, I'm back.


	7. Battle Plans

The news spread quickly through the family and as soon as it was within the realm of polite, they headed back to 5O’s headquarters in unmarked cars and then through the back. Steve wasn’t entirely sure how all of the women had already managed to change out of their eveningwear. It was a little disappointing, but it didn’t particularly matter _what_ Lucy was wearing. The shorts and tank-top (which had some sort of computer code joke on it he didn’t understand) were definitely more practical.

The men had simply shed layers down to their shirt sleeves. Half of the Wayne’s were on their phones, Selina had an arm around Lucy’s shoulder.

“I’m here, and I found Neal,” Jason said, striding into the office with the other missing Wayne brother. Well, beyond Damien, but Steve hadn’t really expected the youngest Wayne to be at the event or be drawn into this.

Neal ignored everyone else, heading straight to his sister’s side. “Hey, sunshine.”

She glanced at him. “Hey.”

“Mozzie’s here.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “He decided we needed extra eyes on the island. He gave me an address for Lombardo.”

Everyone turned to Neal. “You have an address?” Bruce asked.

“Yeah. I thought we could put Lucy on a plane and then—the police could handle it.” His look said otherwise. He wore the same look Bruce had seen on his other son’s faces too often. That certain ferocity and determination. Neal was generally determined, but this was different. This was the “I’m going to handle this myself” variation.

“Right.” Bruce fixed Neal with his own certain look, it didn’t erase Neal’s.

Lucy looked from her father to her brother and sighed. “I am _not_ getting on a plane. If you try to put me on a plane I will jump out of it.”

That wasn’t an idle threat, as most of the room knew all too well.

Lucy squared her shoulders and took a breath. “I’m not running anymore. If he wants me, he’s gonna have to come get me and if he tries…well, I’m not a scared teenager anymore.”

“We’ll handle this,” Danny interjected. “It’s a police matter now and the police will find Lombardo.”

“Not if I find him first,” Jason muttered.

Lucy glanced at her brother and smirked.

“The address, Mr. Wayne?” Danny looked at Neal.

Neal looked at Bruce first and then turned to Danny, one of his signature smiles flashing. “Sure thing, Detective.”

“You can’t give them the address!” Damien popped out of the shadows. “This is a family matter.”

“Damien, we aren’t vigilantes.” The fact that Bruce could say that with a straight face was a testament to his life-long charade. “The police will handle this. Neal, give them the address.”

There was a singular head of the Wayne family and the Bat family, and there were on rare occasions times when that head made a decision and the families followed that decision without questions. Rarely, but it happened. What he said, and what he meant, on this occasion, however, were two separate things.

And they all knew it. Bruce Wayne may have just told his children to stay out of it, but Batman hadn’t. He was relatively certain the 5O team could handle Lombardo, but he wasn’t the sort of person to leave things up to chance. Besides, if he didn’t work with his kids on this one, one of them was probably going to do something regrettable. He’d prefer that didn’t happen.

He’d prefer not to make killers out of all of his children.

“We should keep you all here until we have Lombardo in custody,” Steve said. “Bring in your private security. We can make this place a fortress.”

Neal handed over the address and the slipped off to huddle with Dick and Tim while Damien and Jason argued with Steve and Danny about staying at the station.

It was well timed.

“Does Lombardo have connections on the island already?” Dick asked.

“He arranged that little kidnapping attempt,” Neal replied. “Mozzie thinks he’s hiring mostly locals, but there have been a few sightings of his lieutenants.”

“Where’s Mozzie?” Tim asked.

“I’ll text you the address. He’s expecting you.”

Tim nodded. “Babs would be helpful here too. And Lucy.”

“Yeah, but we can’t leave Sara and the baby alone,” Dick replied. “We should have brought Stephanie and Alfred along.”

“Alfred is on his own much deserved vacation,” Neal replied. “Barry can babysit, and be here in a blink. Lucy should stay here. I prefer having her surrounded by people with guns.

“Okay, so Barry watches the house, the kids and Sara. Babs and I go to Mozzie. Anything else?” Tim glanced from brother to brother.

“Yeah,” Neal nodded. “We should call Peter. He likes being kept in the loop when crazy happens.”

“You can do that,” Dick said. “Check-ins every half-hour, okay? I’ll coordinate from here with Dad and the murder twins.” He nodded toward Damien and Jason.

“Deal.” Tim flashed a smile. “Have fun.”

“Definitely.”

While the murderous Waynes distracted, Tim slipped out of the station. Lucy took note of the huddle and the slip with a sigh. They were plotting without her. That was just rude. She shot her twin a look.

Neal immediately headed toward her, hoping to cut off any irritation before if became action.

“You look like you’re thinking about trouble.”

“You’re plotting without me.”

“This is a guy who want you dead, Lucy.”

“Like there aren’t people who want you dead.” She waved a hand in dismissal. “I can think of a dozen off the top of my head.”

“Well thank you for that.” Neal shook his head. “Lucy, this guy is dangerous.”

“So is Kellar, but I didn’t see the whole family going DefCon four when he showed up.” To be fair, Peter had actually resolved that particular issue, and Kellar was safely behind bars, but still.

“That was different. I didn’t have the FBI using Kellar as a bogeyman to keep me in line. I know they told you about the things Lombardo did. The things he likes to do. They kept you in terror for years.” Neal pulled her closer and looked around, picking and office and claiming it. He closed the door behind them. “You and I both know you’ve been substituting this vigilante stuff for, you know, therapy. Because you have a serious adrenaline addiction and no sense of self-preservation.”

“I think that’s a bit of an overstatement.”

“I don’t. You’re too much like Dad, Lucy and you know what? He _does_ go to therapy.”

“I know that,” she snapped. “I’m fine.”

“Sure you are.”

“Just like you’re totally fine after being in prison.” Lucy shook her head.

Neal sighed. “Yes, I have my own issues, but I’m _in_ therapy, Lucy. You just pretend that everything is okay when we both know it’s not.”

She groaned and turned away from him, tossing her hands into the air. “Why am I always the little doll that everyone wants to protect? I’m not fragile, Neal. I’m _Batgirl_!”

“Yeah, I know. And you aren’t the only one who gets shoved aside when things get dangerous. None of them blinked before putting me out of harm’s way when Keller showed up. We’re still the newest members of the family. We might as well be the babies.”

“That doesn’t explain you wanting to throw me on a plane, Neal.” She gave him a sharp look. “That wasn’t Dick or Jason who said that, it was you.”

Neal took a breath. “I…I guess there’s a bit more of Dad in me than I thought. I’m sorry, Lucy. I—I just don’t want to see you get hurt anymore.”

Lucy sighed. “I’m surrounded by dangerous people, I’ll be okay. You should get back to Sara. She’s probably freaking out.”

Which seemed perfect timing for Neal’s phone to ring. “Oh, hey I was just about to—” Neal paused. “What? No. I’ll meet you there. Are you—okay. Okay. Just—yeah. Love you too.” He hung up, eyes wide as he looked back at his sister. “Sara’s in labor.”


	8. Vigilantes

Selina and Neal immediately headed to the hospital, dragging Damien along. That left Bruce, Jason, Dick and Lucy at 5O headquarters with the team. Bruce called his personal security team and had some of them sent to the hospital. He wasn’t going to let anyone near his grandchildren and if he couldn’t go directly there himself, he’d send an army instead.

Steve pulled Lucy into his office for a quick chat after she protested not being allowed to go to the hospital as well.

“We should be there,” Lucy remarked. “I should be there.” She shook her head. “Do you really think Lombardo is stupid enough to come at me now? We know he’s here. There are guns…everywhere. We can do this from the hospital.”

Steve shook his head. “Why don’t you tell me what’s actually going on here? I have a list of people a mile long that aren’t supposed to be allowed within a mile of you. You mentioned Cooper, he’s not on the list. So what’s going on?”

Lucy took a deep breath and sighed. “Cooper was an FBI agent. My handler when I worked for them. He was an asshole who used fear to keep me in line. He used to threaten to tell Lombardo where I was. Who I was. I think he followed through on that threat now.”

“Why now?” Steve narrowed his eyes, tamping down his urge to track the guy down and beat him to a pulp. “Where has he been since you left the FBI?”

“Terrified Jason would kill him, I think.” Lucy shook her head. “I’m not sure. He was fired. Dad made sure of that. He came after me once in Gotham and then—nothing. I hadn’t heard from him since. I guess he licked his wounds and finally took the plunge to get revenge.” She rubbed her arm. “Lombardo isn’t the most dangerous person I’ve ever been on the wrong side of.” She was relatively certain that honor belonged to a couple of the Rogues. But they didn’t know her real name. Her face. They couldn’t attack Lucy Wayne.

Her pocket buzzed and she reached for her phone before realizing that it wasn’t her phone that was buzzing. She blinked and tugged the earpiece from her pocket and set it in place, tapping on the button to pick up the call.

“What’s up, Barry?”

“I’m on the island.”

“Yes, and? I’m in the middle of something.” She glanced at Steve and turned away just slightly for an illusion of privacy.

“You with someone not in the know?”

“You could say that. What’s up Barry?”

“Well I know that you’re in a bit of trouble, and I thought maybe it might be important to note that there’s a familiar face in town.”

Lucy sighed. “Who?”

“Brutale.”

“No.”

“Yup.”

Lucy groaned. “You think Lombardo hired him?”

“I think you need to start acting like this is a JLA matter.”

“Great. Did you tell Dick?”

“He’s my next call. You want me to bring anyone in?”

“No.”

“Lucy—”

“We have plenty of hands already, Barry. It’s practically a colony. If I see even a flash of red and blue, I swear I’ll—”

“Got it. Okay. Stay safe.”

“Thanks.” She hung up and turned back to Steve, weighing her options. She could tell him who she was, who she really was, but that could out the whole family. She could tell him that Guillermo Barrera as on the island. The assassin was at least somewhat well-known in the law enforcement community. He had a specific grudge against Dick—Nightwing really, but she doubted very much he knew Nightwing and Dick were the same person.

Lucy sighed.

“There something on your mind?” He crossed his arms over his chest which—that was a little distracting. Lucy swallowed. His arms were distracting. His chest was distracting—his eyes. “Who was that?”

“A friend.”

“And what’s going on?” Steve set her with a stare she was quite certain worked on all sorts of criminals.

She could do that stare too, and she thought her father’s version of it was a touch more frightening. Possibly because she’d had to scrub the Batcave with a toothbrush once after being fixed with it.

Except, part of her _wanted_ to tell him what was going on. Everything that was going on. Part of her wanted to throw caution to the wind and pull him into her world. She thought he’d do well there. But so much of it wasn’t hers to tell. Too many secrets would spill out if she told him one. She couldn’t do that. She couldn’t do that without talking to the rest of the family.

Her inner conflict must have shown, because Steve’s expression softened. “I get this feeling you and I have something in common, Lucy.”

She blinked. “What’s that?”

“I think we’ve both seen battlefields. I think you aren’t the spoiled heiress you pretend to be. I think you have secrets.” He stepped closer. “I think maybe you can’t tell me everything because the secrets aren’t entirely yours.”

“You’re not entirely wrong.” She raised her head, squaring her shoulders. “Someone dangerous—more dangerous—is on the island. A friend was warning me. We think Lombardo hired him. It wouldn’t be a leap.”

“Can I have the name?”

“Guillermo Barrera. Some people call him Brutale.”

Steve blinked. “He’s an assassin.”

“Yeah.”

“We need to get you off this island.”

Lucy sighed. “I’m not leaving. My sister-in-law is labor. My family is here. My leaving isn’t going to put off Lombardo. It’s not going to put off Brutale. I can hold my own, Steve. You think you know what I am. You do. Soldiers don’t run from fights. I’m not running from this fight.”

“Lucy—”

“I’m not running. I’m not leaving my family.” She straightened and Steve saw that look again. Violence just under the surface of those blue eyes. He could try to get her to leave—but he’d probably end up bloody if he did.

“So what’s next then? We track down an assassin?”

Lucy smiled. “Well, that’s option one.”

“You have another?”

“Yeah. Yeah I do.”

***

No one liked the idea.

“Are you insane?” Dick shouted.

“This is not happening,” Bruce said. “Absolutely not.”

“It’s not a terrible idea.” Jason caught the looks Bruce and Dick sent him, but shrugged them off.

“I’m with the saner members of your family, Miss Wayne,” Danny remarked. “Because I don’t see how _anyone_ —other than maybe Steve—would actually put themselves out as bait for an assassin.”

“I might,” Kono said.

Chin sighed. “Yeah, I know.”

“This isn’t up for debate. We need a quick resolution to this before Lombardo and his goons tear up the city looking for me.” Lucy looked around the room. “We control the location, we draw them in and we take them out.”

“Arrest them, you mean,” Danny said.

“Right.”

Jason snorted. “We need to pick a location. Someplace without too many bystanders.”

“And good sightlines,” Steve added. “Chin?”

“I’ll pull up some options.”

“Kono, could you find a vest for Miss Wayne?” Steve asked. “Unless your staff security has body armor available, Mr. Wayne?”

Bruce nodded. “They do. I’ll give the head of security a call.” He glanced at his daughter. “You should call your mother.”

“I needed to call Neal anyhow.” Lucy shrugged and ducked down the hall. Yeah, Neal was going to love hearing one of the Rogues was in town. How else would their vacation possibly be complete? Next thing she knew, they’d have Aquaman riding in because a giant shark monster was rampaging along the coastline. Without missing a beat, she knocked on a wooden door, not one to tempt fate, and prayed nothing else would go wrong in the next twenty-four hours.

***

An abandoned warehouse located in what could charitably be referred to as a clearing in the jungle outside the city was chosen as the best location for Lucy’s little plan. It was a very straightforward sort of plan. She put herself in the middle of the warehouse, a few carefully placed rumors went out to the city and then with any luck Lombardo and his assassin would take the bait.

And 5O was waiting for them.

5O and a few very stealthy vigilantes who were supposed to be at the station but decided it was better for everyone if they hit the vacation house, grabbed their gear, and climbed some trees to wait. Lucy had her ear piece in and was listening to a steady stream of commentary from Jason and Dick.

“I’m telling you that snake was poisonous,” Jason muttered.

“I’m telling you it wasn’t,” Dick replied.

“And I’m telling you both to shut up,” Bruce said.

That ended the argument quickly enough. She was honestly surprised that Barry hadn’t made an appearance, but Babs must have insisted he stick around the hospital. Between leaving the station and arriving at the warehouse she’d gotten a dozen messages updating her to the general situation. Everyone who wasn’t currently staking on the warehouse was at the hospital, including Mozzie.

Lucy was pretty confident they could take Lombardo with four Bats on the ground, her mother could fight, and did, but this wasn’t really her bailiwick. It was better they were all at the hospital, the kids needed to be protected more than she did.

Steve hadn’t questioned the perfectly fitted body armor Dick had gotten for her, to which she was eternally grateful. It wasn’t as good as her suit, but she couldn’t just slip on half a Batgirl suit and expect Steve not to know what it was. He was not stupid.

God, things would be easier if he was a little less of a detective. Though, she probably wouldn’t like him as much.

“I would like it on record that this idea is insane,” Danny said. “I told you this girl was dangerous.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “She’s got a past. So do you. So do I.” He checked his gun. “It’s not the worst plan.”

“I can’t believe you agreed to it. I can’t believe her father agreed to it.”

Steve shrugged. He had a feeling there was more to Bruce Wayne’s agreement than met the eye. The man was…odd. He put on a good show, just like Lucy did. Just like all of his children. But it was hard not to notice the size of the man’s shoulders. It was hard not to notice how he moved when he didn’t think anyone was paying attention. The whole family had a grace to them that was, in Steve’s experience, born from discipline. Martial arts. Acrobatics. Lucy’s show down at the docks…one of her brothers had to have been with her. Had to have been the guy on the motorcycle.

Two siblings being vigilantes was one thing, two siblings from Gotham? A whole family that acted like this sort of thing was commonplace. Even a rich family. Even the Waynes. It was just…Steve couldn’t shake the idea that there was something more to all of this. Vigilantes from Gotham. A whole family of vigilantes from Gotham.

He was right on the edge of it, when Kono radioed in. “I’ve got movement on my sector, Boss.”

“Got it.”

The Bats in the trees moved into position.

Lucy paced.

Steve radioed Lucy. “Movement on the west side, keep your eyes open.”

“Got it.” Lucy took a breath. The body armor wasn’t the only thing she had on. Jason had slipped her a gun, she had a knife, and there were flashbangs and a few other odds and ends. She wasn’t going to play bait for someone like Brutale without a weapon.

Batarangs and a bo staff would’ve been a little obvious, though if she was being honest with herself, she wasn’t really comfortable with a gun. Guns were Jason’s thing. Guns were final. She didn’t kill people. Jason didn’t generally kill people these days either, but that was a relatively recent development.

The western door swung open with a bang.

Lucy drew the gun.

Brutale was the first one through the door. Lucy wasn’t surprised to see Lombardo—and a half dozen goons—follow. He’d want to be here. He’d want to watch.

“Well, Mona Lisa,” Victor oozed. “You are lovely, aren’t you? It’s a shame I’m going to have to kill you.” His missing eye was covered by a black patch. “It’ll be slow, but since you were so kind to make this easy, I won’t kill your whole family too.” He spotted the gun a moment later. “Or did you bring me here thinking you could stop me?” He laughed.

“I think you’re forgetting one little thing, Victor.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m smarter than you.”

Brutale lunged forward, drawing one of his signature long blades. Lucy jumped back. Steve and Kono came in from the east side while Chin and Danny entered from the north.

“And I didn’t come alone.”

Steve fired a warning shot. “Put your weapons down and your hands on your head!”

“You brought _cops?_ ” Victor shouted.

“Like I was going to let you kill me?” Lucy shook her head. “Wow, you are really stupid.”

Brutale ignored the cops, his focus was only on his target. He lunged at Lucy again. She pulled the gun up and he knocked it out of her hand. She blocked the flat of his blade with her arm, slipping out of his reach. Brutale was dangerous, she’d no doubt of that, but he hadn’t spent the last couple years training with Damien.

Nothing really beat League training.

No one could fire on the assassin with Lucy so close, and he knew it.

“Lucy, you got to get away from him!” Steve shouted. “I need a clean shot.”

“Yeah, I know!” She dodged Brutale again and aimed a kick at his knee. “You know, guys, if you’re going to drop in, now might be the time.”

Victor’s goons, perhaps thinking that with the assassin still in play they had the upper hand, started firing.

The Bats dropped from the ceiling.

Luc wasn’t sure who was more surprised at the sudden appearance of three scary looking men in masks, she was just happy her Dad had foregone his signature look for the event. They didn’t need any news headlines. “Batman Takes Vacation in Hawaii” would be all over national news in a heartbeat.

They didn’t need that kind of attention. Dick hurried to help Lucy with the assassin while Jason and Bruce went for the goons. Steve blinked, but he wasn’t going to say _no_ to competent help. He was pretty sure who the competent help was, anyhow.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Danny muttered.

The local talent was quickly disarmed and corralled, but Dick wasn’t having quite the same luck with the assassin. Lucy moved to help, the others standing guard at the perimeter of the warehouse. No one wanted Brutale to get away. For one thing, he had a thing about not abandoning contracts once taken.

“You’re familiar,” Brutale remarked. “Have I fought you before?” he launched himself at Dick.

“Stop playing with him and kill the girl!” Victor shouted.

“You can shut up,” Danny said.

Steve wanted to intervene, but the balance between the three combatants would be too easy to upset. Lucy moved in tandem with her masked friend. “Kono, call in the cavalry, would you?”

“You got it, Boss.”

Bruce and Jason watched the fight carefully, waiting for an opening.

Brutale threw Dick off and headed back toward Lucy, throwing a blade. She moved—but not quite fast enough. The knife grazed her neck, but a graze was better than the direct hit he was going for.

“Lucy!” Steve shouted.

She staggered back, gripping her neck. “You are such an asshole!”

Dick’s attention was drawn to his sister, but Bruce headed in to cut off Brutale before he could move in again. He threw his bolas at Brutale’s legs and moved in. It wasn’t much of a fight once he had the assassin hobbled. And because Bruce was Bruce and had no interest in letting the Honolulu PD handle someone like Brutale—so he alerted Barry.

Brutale was gone in a blink of gold and red.

“What just happened?” Chin asked. “Did—did anyone else see that?”

Lucy snorted. Barry would have Brutale in a JLA lockup in seconds. That just left Victor. She glanced at Bruce. “You should go before HPD shows up.”

Bruce nodded and the three masked vigilantes did their own vanishing act. Lucy sighed and put a hand on her neck.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked. “Let me see that.”

“It’s not deep.” She fixed her gaze on Victor. “What’s going to happen to him?”

“Prison.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “We should get you to the hospital. And maybe later we can talk about this whole family of vigilantes thing you’ve got going on.”

Lucy smiled. “Maybe.” And maybe she’d see if the JLA wanted someone else posted in Honolulu. Maybe.

 


	9. Precious Things

Neal wasn’t sure if he’d ever been so nervous in his whole life. His wife was in labor. His sister was in danger. Though that latter thing wasn’t anything new.

“How is Sara?” Bruce strode into the waiting room.

Neal looked up. “In labor. They threw me out of the room. They also threw Mozzie out, because he was trying to take over.” He glanced at Bruce. “How did it go?”

“It’s wrapped up.”

“Where’s Lucy?”

“Getting patched up.” Bruce held up a hand. “She’s fine, really. It’s a scratch. It looked worse than it was. Dick is with her.”

“And Jason?”

“Jason is off threatening Commander McGarrett.” Bruce shook his head. “I think it’s becoming a thing.” He sat down. “Don’t worry, Sara’s going to be fine. The baby is going to be fine.”

“Thanks.” Neal exhaled. “I’m just—I’m not sure if I’m ready.”

Bruce put an arm around his son’s shoulder. “You’re going to do fine.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

***

Steve was waiting for Lucy when she was finished getting patched up. A thick white bandage and the blood on her shirt were the only indication of her injury.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” she replied. “You look a little pale.”

“Your brother, Jason.”

“What about him?” She padded closer, quirking an eyebrow.

Steve opened his mouth, and then closed it, shaking his head. “Nevermind.”

“He threatened you, didn’t he?” She smiled. “Let me guess, something about your body would never be found?”

“Something like that. He’s a scary guy.”

Lucy shrugged. “That’s just Jason. Come on, I want to see if the baby is here yet.”

“Of course. Maternity ward is upstairs.” Steve led the way with confidence. He’d really been in the hospital too many times. “So…if I had a theory, would you confirm it?”

“Depends,” she wrapped an arm around his. “What’s the theory?”

“Your family. They don’t…you put today and the docks and Gotham together and I come up with one answer.” He glanced at her. “Which, Danny would tell me was crazy.”

“Danny has a low tolerance for nonsense.”

“Yes. Anyway, I was thinking—bats.”

Lucy smiled. “And if I confirmed your theory, what would you do?”

“Nothing.”

She stopped him, looking him in the eye. “Seriously?”

Steve shrugged. “No one would ever believe me. And even if they did—” He licked his lips. “No, I’m not about to reveal that secret. They do good. It’s not like I can say the cops always get it right. They don’t. We don’t. We screw up, people get hurt. People die. Gotham needs heroes. The world needs heroes.” He sighed. “You’re just doing the best you can.”

“Yeah.” Lucy nodded. “We are.” She leaned up and kissed him. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“Being the guy I thought you might be.” She sighed. “Come on, I’ve got a baby niece or nephew to meet.”

They found everyone gathered in the maternity wing waiting area.

Selina was the first up. “What happened to your neck?”

“It’s just a scratch,” Lucy replied. “How’s Sara?”

“We’re still waiting,” Neal said. “They threw me out.”

“That’s not really a surprise.”

Before anyone could say anything else, the door to the delivery wing opened and a sweaty doctor emerged. “Wayne family?”

“That’s us.” Neal stood. “Is Sara all right?”

“Your wife is fine,” the doctor smiled. “Do you want to meet your daughter now?”

Neal grinned. “Yeah.”

“We’re going to let you back a couple at a time to start, Mom needs a bit of time to recover.”

There was a momentary shuffle, but everyone decided it was only fair Neal went back by himself first.

Lucy settled into a chair next to Bruce, leaning against his shoulder with a sigh. “I have a niece,” she whispered.

Bruce wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I can’t say I mind having another granddaughter.” He smiled. “I suppose this means we have to extend our stay in Hawaii though.” He glanced at her. “Not that I think you’ll mind.”

She blushed. “No idea what you mean.”

“Uh huh.” He rubbed her shoulder. “He’s better than the last one.”

That was high praise coming from Bruce. “Thanks.”

“I should probably threaten him.”

Lucy rolled her eyes.

“What? It’s tradition now.”

She could only shake her head and silently bemoan her male relatives being overly protective. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t frightened away a couple of Jason’s dates. Besides, she hadn’t set her cap on Steve or anything. It was a vacation fling. Except…except it really wasn’t.

It really, really wasn’t.

***

Baby Emily, born somewhat premature, wasn’t cleared to leave the hospital for the near future. Bruce made the arrangements to lengthen their stay. He could work from just about anywhere, but he did force Tim, Jason and Damien onto a plane back to Gotham. Someone needed to be a Bat, they couldn’t just leave it all to the JLA temps. For one thing, Bruce didn’t particularly like their JLA temp, but Bruce was always moderately suspicious of people who could fly without airplanes.

That wasn’t the only reason, of course, Damien needed to get ready to start school and Tim wanted to investigate more thoroughly where Victor had gotten his information. He needed his contacts on the mainland.

The hospital staff was having a slight adjustment period, as Bruce had rather insisted on guards. They were relatively unobtrusive for being dressed in black and wearing body armor.

Neal took it in stride. He was feeling more than usually protective at the moment anyhow.

“I never imagined in my life that there would be armed guards outside my hospital room,” Sara remarked, nursing Emily. She smiled at her little girl. “Though I suppose I can’t complain too much. What with the nefarious fellows you seem to attract.”

“Hey, it was all Lucy this time.” Neal sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at his daughter. “She’s so little.”

“She was a bit early,” Sara said. “Do you really think Bruce will stick around until Emily is clear to fly? Can he afford to?”

“I think he might fly back and forth a bit.”

“Sometimes I forget he’s like, a billionaire.”

“And then you see the armed guards?”

“Yeah.” Sara grinned. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Neal leaned over and kissed her. “I can’t believe we’re parents.”

“I know.” Sara’s voice was thick with wonder. “Did you send pictures to Peter and Elizabeth?”

“Of course. Elizabeth would kill me if I didn’t.”

“I’m glad your sister is okay.”

“Mm,” Neal hummed. “I don’t think it’s entirely wrapped up yet.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Cooper.” Neal took a breath and sighed. “We don’t have him in hand yet. I put Mozzie on it though. This time…this time he’s not going to walk away.”

“Neal,” she said reproachfully.

“I mean prison, Sara. I’m not Jason.” He hadn’t though. He was tired of Cooper haunting his sister. Tired of the man coming back and trying to hurt her. He needed to be put down.

“You better.” Sara grabbed his shirt collar. “Because you sister is probably going to keep dating that cop, and I don’t think he’ll be okay with you murdering people on his islands.”

“You have a point.”

She raised her eyebrows at him. “I know.”

He was so damn lucky she agreed to marry him.

***

Lucy spent the day after her niece was born making statements to various police agencies, one of her father’s lawyers at hand to intimidate anyone who got too nosy. Steve was waiting for her outside the police station when she was done, leaning against his truck with a box that smelled of sugar sitting on the hood.

“Did you bring me pastries?” Lucy asked. She waved off her lawyers and bodyguards with a stern look and sauntered over to Steve.

“Malasadas,” Steve replied. “I thought you might like them.”

She smiled. “I don’t say no to sugar.”

Steve picked up the box and opened it. “Have at.”

Lucy plucked one of the round fried pastries from the box, munching happily. “Mmm. Those are good.”

“I know all the best spots for food.” He smiled.

“Is this your way of wooing me by proving you can provide for me?”

“I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

Lucy took another malasada. “Dad sent three of my wayward brothers back to Gotham, but I’m sticking around.” She licked the sugar off her lips and glanced at Steve.

He swallowed. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. I’d like to see how a few things play out.”

“Me too.” He set the box aside, closing the distance between them. “You want to go somewhere? Just—do something that isn’t life threatening?”

“Yeah.” Lucy nodded. “Yeah, let’s do that.”

***

They didn’t have a plan, Steve drove around the island, hitting some of the out of the way spots tourists didn’t get to. Those secret gems the locals kept to themselves. He wanted to show her everything—and he couldn’t deny it was because no small part of him wanted her to stay. They grabbed dinner and Steve found himself driving back to his house. He wanted her to see the beach there.

“Is this your place?” Lucy didn’t seem upset by the venue, more…curious.

“Yeah, my father left it to me after he died.”

“I’m sorry, was it recent?”

“A few years ago,” Steve replied. “But I got the guy.”

Lucy blinked. “He was murdered?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s awful.”

“Come on, I’ll show you around.” He took her hand and led her into the house. He’d spent some time on renovations, but at its heart, the house was still the same. Just equipped with a few things most houses in the area didn’t have. A state of the art security system, bullet resistant glass, among other things. Plus he’d painted.

“This is nice, and the view…hard to beat that.” Lucy peered out the back patio doors. “You’ve got your own stretch of beach.”

“It’s nice to be able to just walk out and go for a swim. It’s good exercise too.”

Lucy nodded. “I tend to prefer combat practice for exercise.”

“Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me.” He smiled. “You want to go for a swim?”

“Sure.” She smiled back. “I’d love to see you in trunks.”

Steve laughed. “Yeah, I bet.”

“Well, you have already seen me in a bathing suit, Steve. It’s only fair.”

“Well then, in the interest fair, I guess I have no choice.”

***

After the swim, and showers, they settled onto the couch to watch a movie. There wasn’t an incredibly amount of watching being done, however, as Lucy had her back to the screen and arms around Steve while he did his best to mark that beautiful stretch of skin on her neck.

It was a more than pleasant way to end the evening.

Lucy fell asleep in Steve’s arms, nestled closely together on his couch. She was well aware that one of Wayne’s security people had tailed them to the house, but they were entirely circumspect. She could count on them for discretion.

What she couldn’t count on, however, was that in the small hours of the morning, that old nightmares would creep back to the surface. Spurred, no doubt, by seeing Victor, and Cooper’s shadow still cast over the events with no source. It was an old nightmare. One she’d lived for weeks. Trapped in a small dark room while Cooper waited for her to “soften up”. She’d always been a bit claustrophobic, but it became so much worse after that.

In the dream, the room became smaller and smaller, hemming her in, in total darkness. The walls brushing against her arms and then squeezing and squeezing until she couldn’t breathe. She thought her bones would break—and she couldn’t help the scream.

The scream that woke up Steve a fraction faster than Lucy’s panicked thrashing.

His only thought was to keep her from hurting herself, he hugged her tight. “Lucy, it’s okay. It’s okay, you’re awake now.” He nudge the nearby remote with his foot, powering up the TV to flood the room with light.

His arms were warmer than the cold stone, and voices had rarely intruded on that nightmare.

“It’s okay,” he loosened his grip and turned her around so she could see him. “It was just a dream. It’s okay.”

The panic in her eyes, the way her whole body trembled in his arms—he recognized too well the kind of dream she must have had. “Nightmare,” she whispered.

“It wasn’t real,” he reassured, pushing a stray strand of hair from her face. “It wasn’t real and you’re awake now.”

She took a breath, and another. Her hands were still shaking. Usually, she had her mom, or Jason or Neal, when these dreams came. Sometimes Albert. She should have known seeing Victor would send her into nightmares, should have known and gone home for the night where no one would think twice about her nightmares, where they wouldn’t judge her for them.

But she looked into Steve’s eyes, and she didn’t see judgement there either. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize, sweetheart, happens to the best of us.” He put his hand on her face, thumb rubbing against her cheek. “It’s okay.”

She collapsed onto his chest, pillowing her head under his chin before the tears started. He wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair and humming some uncertain tune.

“It’s okay.”

“It’s okay.”

_It’s okay._


	10. Moving Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy makes a choice.

“All right Mozzie, what do you have for me?” Neal leaned against Mozzie’s desk. He’d managed to shower and change into something less conspicuous than one of his usual suits and had slipped out to Mozzie’s gallery with the paparazzi none the wiser. They were still camped outside the hospital waiting to get a look at the newest Wayne.

Yeah, like Bruce was going to let them get pictures of his newest grandchild, they still hadn’t gotten any pictures of Dick and Barb’s baby.

“Your hunch was correct, Victor Lombardo got his tip from our friendly neighborhood asshole.” Mozzie pulled up a grainy surveillance shot. “Looks like Cooper found Lombardo in Bludhaven.”

Neal sighed. “Figures.”

“Anyway, I’ve gotten in touch with a local hacker, he calls himself Toast. When I mentioned this was for Artemisia, he became very willing to help.”

Lucy’s latest internet handle, Artemisia, had a reputation for being more of a grey hat than a white hat, and she was well liked on both sides of the aisle, particularly for her take downs of corrupt tech providers.

“Are you sure it’s safe telling him that?”

“I didn’t use her real name, and I didn’t give specifics. He’s just looking for Cooper. We needed a local, and we needed them motivated.”

“Fair enough. Any progress?”

“Toast sent me this yesterday.” Mozzie pulled up an airport security video. “Left hand corner, red hat.”

Neal peered over Mozzie’s shoulder at the spot in question—and quickly spotted Cooper’s all too familiar face. “I see him. Is that Honolulu?”

“Unfortunately, yes. He arrived four days ago.”

Neal frowned. “Great.”

“I’ve got Alex and some other local hires tailing him.”

“Good.” Neal straightened. “Where is he now?”

“At last check in, he was at a motel.” Mozzie pulled up the photos and a map. “That was fifteen minutes ago, and there’s been no word of movement. He should still be there.”

“Great.” Neal pulled out his phone and dialed his father.

“Neal?”

“Hey Dad, I’m sending you an address. Cooper is on the island.”

“Of course he is,” Bruce sighed. “We should call Commander McGarrett, let him handle it.”

“Yeah, I know.” Neal swallowed. “Just…it’s Cooper.”

“I know. But we have to handle this the right way. Quietly. Quickly. Commander McGarrett is capable of that.”

“All right.” That didn’t mean Neal wouldn’t be there. He had to make sure Cooper went into custody this time. “Are you going to supervise?”

“Of course. I’ll see you there.” Bruce hung up.

Neal took a breath.

“I take it you’re going to make an appearance as well?” Mozzie asked.

“Of course.” Neal texted the address and photos to Bruce. “Keep me updated?”

“Will do. And once this is all over, we should hit one of those beachside bars for drinks with tiny umbrellas.”

Neal grinned. “Anything for you Moz.”

***

Steve made pancakes. Lucy wasn’t sure if she’d ever had a man _make_ her breakfast. Dinner, once, but she couldn’t think of a single man who would’ve stayed to make her a meal after one of her nightmares. Even the ones that had their own. She was relatively sure it was precisely that that cause the trouble. They had enough of their own nightmares, they didn’t want to deal with hers.

“These are good,” she said. “You like to cook?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “It’s relaxing. I also like to go to the spa.”

Lucy smiled. “Really?”

“Really. I’ve got a favorite one, if you’d like to go sometime.”

“Well, I don’t say no to a good massage.” She gave him a look.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He smiled back, fully taking her meaning. His phone buzzed. He sighed, and checked the ID. _Bruce Wayne._ “This is McGarrett,” he answered.

“Commander, I’m going to text you an address and photograph.”

“All right, under what context?”

“It’s Cooper, he’s in town. I assume my daughter has filled you in to some degree about him.”

“Some.” Steve clenched his jaw. “What do you want me to do?”

“I want you to take care of it. Pick him up, lock him away. There are plenty of warrants out on his head.”

“Yeah, I know.” Steve had done his own background check. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you, Commander.” Bruce hung up.

Steve glanced at Lucy, who was looking quite interested in the phone call.

“What’s going on?” She raised her eyebrows.

“Your father wants me to take care of something for him.” Steve looked her in the eyes. “Cooper was tracked down. I’m going to bring him in.”

Lucy took a deep breath. “I want to be there.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’m sure.” She hadn’t let Cooper scare her at that night club, she wasn’t going to let him scare her now.

“All right.”

They got dressed and armed and headed for the motel. Lucy spotted a few familiar faces waiting for them.

“Detective Williams,” she greeted. “I didn’t realize you got an invitation.”

“It’s one of those procedural things,” Danny replied. “You know, having your partner come along to make arrests.”

“We came along because we were bored,” Kono added, gesturing at Chin. “And Danny was being weird. What’s going on anyway?”

“You’re about to arrest someone with a very long list of warrants,” Lucy replied.

“Is he likely to be armed?” Danny asked.

“Definitely.” Lucy nodded. “And he used to be FBI so—be careful.” Lucy felt eyes on them from the nearby shrubs. She frowned. _Was that Neal?_ Her twin didn’t normally join in these things. He went out with Selena sometimes, but not Bruce.

“Got it,” Kono said. “Boss, what’s the play?”

“Divide and conquer. You and Chin head around the back. Lucy will wait here, Danny and I go through the front door.”

Lucy wasn’t surprised by the order. She wasn’t even supposed to be armed. Steve glanced at her. Lucy nodded. “I’ll stay here.”

“Thanks.”

She watched them go to work, watched Neal watch. If Neal was here, Bruce was probably lurking nearby as well.

They were an overprotective lot. She’d get them back for it eventually. Probably by doing something life threatening and proving their point for them. It was a vicious cycle. Lucy leaned against Steve’s truck, hand on her holstered gun.

Steve broke down the front door. A gunshot rang out and her blood ran cold. “Steve!”

He didn’t falter, rushing forward and firing twice.

Neal didn’t stay in the shadows hurrying over to his twin. “I’m sure he’s fine,” he said.

Minutes later, Steve came back out of the hotel room. There was a round sticking out of his flak jacket. “It’ll be a bruise, but I’m fine, Lucy.”

She sighed in relief. “Pretty stupid of him to fire at your jacket.”

Steve shrugged.

“Where is he?”

“He wouldn’t put the gun down, Lucy.” Steve walked forward, putting a hand on her arm. “You understand?”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “You don’t aim to wound.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Thanks.” She took a deep breath and grabbed Neal’s hand. “Really, I just need to process.”

“Sure.” Steve nodded. “Process.”

“You want me to take you back to the house?” Neal asked.

“Yeah. We’ll talk later, Steve.”

“Okay.” He nodded again.

Lucy wasn’t sure how she was feeling. She wasn’t sad. She wasn’t angry. She was just—numb. But she didn’t want Steve to think she was angry at him, or whatever. She squeezed Neal’s hand and pulled free a moment to pull close to Steve and kissed him. “Later,” she promised.

Neal glanced away, he actually sort of liked Steve, in a way. He was tough and Neal had no doubt he could keep Lucy safe but he was also aware that Steve was everything Lucy was. They say opposites attract, but in his experience, it was like that attracted like. Selena and Bruce were more alike than they were different. He and Sara were the same. Barb and Dick. Steve was like Lucy, not just in the crazy ways, but the ones that really counted. He was meticulous and measured, calm in the face of danger. He could take what Lucy gave out. He could take it when she pushed.

Neal hoped that would be enough. He wanted his sister to be happy.

“My car is a block over,” Neal said, pointing. “Go ahead and I’ll meet you there.”

Lucy frowned at him. “Seriously?”

“We have to avoid the paparazzi.”

“Uh huh.” She shook her head. “You’re all insane.” She flashed a smile at Steve. “Later.”

Neal watched her head off toward the car and turned back to Steve. “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“This is probably a little cliché,” Neal admitted, “but it’s become a tradition so let me say this. I know a lot of dangerous people. Criminals mostly. Some of them owe me favors. If anything, _anything_ , happens to my twin sister, I might have to call in those favors.”

Steve smiled. “I understand.”

“Great.” Neal smiled back.

Steve thought he understood each of her brother’s a little bit better by the way they threatened him. Neal was a conman, once upon a time, and he didn’t hurt people. Hurting people was someone else’s job. But at the same time, Steve didn’t have a single doubt that if push came to shove, Neal would do what had to be done. There was a certainty in Neal’s smile that told him that.

The Waynes were a dangerous bunch, there was no doubt about that.

***

“Are you all right, kitten?” Selena asked, eyeing her daughter. “You look a bit frazzled.”

“I’m all right, Mom.” Lucy went for a hug. “Pretty sure.” Cooper was dead. Lombardo was in prison. The enemies of Lucy Smith were finally gone. She was…free of it. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that. It was an old hurt, one she was still fighting, but it couldn’t hurt her anymore. She could move forward. Choosing to be a Wayne was the first time she’d tried to do that in a long time. She had another choice to make now. She could stay here. She could stay and try. Lombardo was extradited to the mainland. Done.

Selena hugged her tight, possibly sensing something in her daughter’s posture. She pulled back a touch. “It’s all over.”

“Yeah.”

Bruce was there a moment later, pulling Lucy close. “You want me to call Dr. Wilson?”

Her therapist. “No. Really.” She liked his hugs. Her dad was strong and that made her feel safe. Steve made her feel safe too. It was different though. Bruce was a mountain.

Steve was a volcano.

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “I…I think I’m going to stay on the island awhile. I want to stay.”

“All right.” Bruce’s only daughter asked for very little. None of his children were particularly interested in the money. Well, Neal had a truly impressive suit collection, but even he was generally ambivalent. “I’ll make that happen. We’ll buy some property. Wayne Enterprises could use an expansion into the hospitality business, I think.”

She glanced up at him. “You’re going to buy a resort hotel?”

He shrugged. “I was thinking of buying more than one, turning some of the land over to the national parks.”

“Feeling philanthropic again?”

“Always.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

_I’m going to stay._


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And we come to a close.

Three days later, Steve heard a knock at his front door. He’d gotten texts from Lucy since Cooper’s death, but this was the first time since that she’d emerged from the family cocoon of bodyguards and brothers to come see him.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” She smiled.

He didn’t know how she managed to get away from the paparazzi in the bright floral dress she was wearing, but then again, she could have just changed into it. It was blue and bright, bringing out the color of her eyes. God, those eyes.

“I was starting to wonder if you’d been spotted by cameras, you’re a little late.” He stepped aside so she could slip in.

Lucy laughed. “Please, they’ll have to try a lot harder to get a photo of me than that.” She flipped her hair back over her shoulder, the braid swinging. “They’re always looking for Lucy Wayne. I’m not always that girl.”

Steve was all too aware of that. “I’m hoping they don’t start getting snapshots of Batgirl either, not on the island anyway.”

“Don’t worry, if I set up shop here, I’ll take a new name. You have to plan these things out you know.”

“Of course.” Steve sighed and led her into the living room. “Wait—does that mean you’re planning on sticking around?”

Lucy plopped down on the sofa with a contended smile. “Dad is buying some hotels. It’ll be Lucy Wayne’s first go at managing part of the family business.”

“Your dad is buying hotels to give you something to do on the island…that’s, wow.” Steve shook his head and made a detour to the kitchen for beer. “He doesn’t do anything halfway, does he?”

“Nope.” Lucy smiled. “I thought you’d have figured that out after last night.”

Steve coughed. “Yeah…I was not expecting that.” When the last of the Wayne’s decided to make a protective stand regarding Lucy, he’d done it not as Bruce, but Batman. “Your dad is very intimidating.” He headed back to the living room and handed her a beer. “I suppose you come by it all honestly.”

“That’s what they tell me.” She popped the top off the beer. “And I figured, while I’m not running the hotel, you and I…we can give this,” she gestured at the space between her and him, “a chance.”

“I’d like that.”

“Good.” Lucy smiled and took a sip of her beer.

***

_Months Later_

“I thought you said she would be running a hotel,” Danny complained. “What part of _this_ looks like she’s running a hotel?” He gestured at the four trussed up, unconscious goons that had been delivered so helpfully to 5O’s headquarters.

“You don’t know that for sure,” Steve replied.

“Is that, or is that not, her calling card?” Danny pointed at the postcard tucked into one of the knots.

“Maybe.” Steve shrugged. “It’s the thought that counts, you know.”

Danny sighed. “Right. As far as romantic gestures go, this is just…weird.”

“Come on, let’s get these guys inside.” Steve pulled the first one to his feet. “We’ve got paperwork to do.”

“My whole life is paperwork.”

***

“I got your present.”

Lucy smiled. “Oh good.” She adjusted the phone. “Happy anniversary.”

“Are you going to give me goons every anniversary?” Steve asked.

“Maybe.”

He snorted. “That’s thoughtful, but I think you’ve raised Danny’s hackles enough for the moment.”

Lucy laughed. “Fine, I’ll stick to beer next time.”

“I’m sure Danny would appreciate that. I’ll see you tonight?”

“Of course, I’ve put all my extracurriculars on hold and I finished all of my work at the hotel.”

“Great. Then I’ll see you at the shrimp truck.”

“My favorite place.” Lucy smiled. “Be safe.”

“You too.”

***

Lucy parked her bike just off the beach, spotting Steve’s truck with a smile. She set her helmet on the back and sauntered over to the shrimp truck.

“Hey, Kamekona, is that a new flavor?” she peered at the board.

“Of course, diversification is the key to all successful businesses,” he replied. “Just wait, I’ve got my helicopter license test coming up and then we’ll have island tours too.”

“Oh, great.” She gave him a thumbs up. “Where’s Steve?”

“Here!” Steve jogged up. “Sorry, I thought I saw a vandal.”

“Oh, really. Vandalism is enough to draw you away from our date?” She raised her eyebrows.

“I’ve got a vendetta with this particular vandal,” he replied, drawing closer and putting his hands on her shoulders. “Sorry.” He leaned forward and kissed her. “Won’t happen again.”

“Uh huh.”

Steve kissed her again. “Two hot and spicy and one garlic, Kamekona.”

“You got it, lovebirds.”

Lucy rolled her eyes and let Steve lead her over to the picnic tables. “You planning to eat all those hot and spicy yourself big boy?”

“You like hot and spicy.”

She shrugged. “I’d rather have barbecue.”

“Okay, you heard the lady.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kamekona waved a spatula at them. “I hear you.”

Steve leaned forward. “So, how’s the hotel?”

“Oh, you know, fine. Dick was actually impressed with our numbers this month. You know how hard he is to impress.” She smiled. “I think my mother is coming in next month to test our new security system and Neal’s gallery is almost ready to open. I think he plans to split his time here more often.”

“You happy about that?”

“I spent most of my life alone, it’s nice to have time to myself _now_ , but it’s also nice to have them around—so long as they aren’t hovering.” These past months had been…good. Better than good. Running the hotel. Catching bad guys. Being with Steve. It was nice not to be in the protective bower of Wayne security 24/7 but it was also nice that they visited nearly every month.

She didn’t feel homesick really, occasionally heartsick, but her family always seemed to anticipate those days and showed up with a basket of fruit or wine—or in Neal’s case, a box of cupcakes and the newest gadget he’d swiped from Tim. She suspected Steve was letting them know when she was drooping, but she didn’t mind so much.

“I get that.” Steve wasn’t sure he’d want his sister here full time either. Though she and Lucy did get along, Lucy wasn’t…she wasn’t the sort of person who made friends easily. She was trying though, for Steve, and she had managed to befriend Kono and Chin—Danny was somewhat more antagonistic. But Danny was pretty antagonistic toward most people.

“So, I got you goons, what did you get me for our anniversary?”

Steve laughed. “Oh, I don’t know if I can beat your gift.”

Lucy grinned.

“But I’m gonna give it a shot.” He reached under the table for his backpack and pulled out a flat case and handed it over.

“You got me a gun? Is it the new Beretta?” Her eyebrows went up.

Steve grinned. “Open it and find out.”

Lucy didn’t use guns for vigilantism, but she did enjoy target shooting. She went with Steve and Kono on the weekends. It was very cathartic. She popped open the case, smiling at the matte black gun inside. “I love it.”

“Check the clip.”

Lucy raised her eyebrows. “Okay.” She picked up the clip. It rattled. She shook it and a small silver object fell out.

A ring. It was a simple silver band with a stripe of blue enamel down the center.

Steve slipped down off the bench and onto one knee, feeling only mildly foolish. “Lucy.”

She picked up the ring, feeling her heart catch in her throat. It had been a year since she and Steve first met, today was the anniversary of the night he found her in the nightclub. He’d thought that was a weird date to celebrate, but she’d insisted. It was the night she’d thought about having him. It was the night she’d recognized in Steve a kindred spirit.

Of course it was their anniversary.

“Steve.”

He took her hand. “Lucy, I thought about this for a long time. You are, without a doubt, the most reckless woman I’ve ever met. The most dangerous. Capable. I don’t know what I’d do without you. I don’t even want to think about life without you. I love you so much, Lucy.” He swallowed. “So, will you marry me?”

Lucy swallowed. She’d known, maybe from the moment she’d laid eyes on him in that club, that if she stayed here, stayed with him, she’d fall in love with him. Fall in love with the danger and the competence. He was…her match. It sounded so silly to even think, she’d never said it aloud. But for all those times when she didn’t say it, she’d felt it. She felt it now. A certainty of purpose and choice she’d really only felt a handful of times in her whole life.

“Yeah. I mean, Yes. I’ll marry you. Now get off your knees before they go stiff.”

Steve laughed, surging up to wrap her in his arms. “I think I forgot practical in that list.” He kissed her and then helped put the ring on her finger.

“Wowee, that was romantic,” Kamekona sauntered over with a tray full of shrimp. “If I’d known you was gonna propose, I’d have filmed it.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “That’s why I didn’t tell you.” He glanced at Lucy. “Dinner and then…your place or mine?”

“Oh, I think mine. We can got to the spa after.” She leaned forward and kissed him. “I love you too.”

“You don’t think your mother is going to insist on some big wedding, do you?” Steve gave her a pleading look.

“Doubtful. We’ll get married on the beach, away from the reporters and the paparazzi. And then we can go to New York on our honeymoon.”

“New York?”

“Of course.” She grinned. “Or maybe Maine. Someplace cold. We can ski.”

“Ski?”

“Mmm hmm.” She nodded. “Because half of my brothers refuse to ski, which means we’ll have a nice quiet honeymoon without too many interruptions.”

“Oh, I like how you think.” He smiled. “My devious girl.”

“You two aren’t going to keeping making out are you?”

Ignoring Kamekona, he pulled her close for another kiss.

***

_Three Months Later_

In a quiet, beachside wedding, Lucy Wayne married Steve McGarrett with most of her family and friends in attendance. If Steve didn’t quite understand how she knew a reporter from the Daily Planet or why said reporter was getting all sorts of weird looks from her father, or why she knew a crime tech from central city, or any of the other myriad of peculiar folks who arrived, well, he loved her enough that he didn’t care.

Knowing who—or rather what—her family did on the side did have him wondering if any of the guests had evening jobs of their own.

Lucy wore a blue dress, as she disliked white, and she looked much better in blue anyhow. Anyone who argued with her was treated to a death glare that nearly rivaled Steve’s. The dress stopped short of her knees and dipped low in the back and she forewent shoes. Despite all the extra guests, it was a relatively casual affair.

They wrote their own vows and there were few dry eyes left when the bride and groom kissed.

Later, at the reception, Lucy made the rounds, dancing with her brothers and father, with Barb and Sara and her mother—everyone really. She waltzed with Barry, who teased her about Steve being a perfect addition to the brooding Bats.

Finally though, the night came to a close and the happy couple had a flight to catch. Steve wasn’t particularly subtle, lifting his new bride into his arms.

“Goodbye!” Steve called.

Lucy laughed and shook her head. “You’re terrible. I can walk you know.”

“I know.” He grinned. “But I never do seem to get to play the hero for you so…let me have this.”

“All right, Commander. Just this once.” She kissed him. “Because it’s our honeymoon.”

“I do love you.”

“I love you too.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is, entirely possible, I may write more stories in this 'verse, but for now, I'm done. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, and commenting.


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